"Be Human"

Disclaimer: I didn't create the Farscape characters. You know who owns the Farscape characters. Caralynn Adrasteia (Carly), Murphy Greenfield, Scott Madigan, Zoe Baird and Arissia are mine…all mine…

Theme:

I analyze and I verify and I quantify so much
100 percentile no errors no miss
I synchronize and I specialize and I classify so much
Don't worry 'bout dreaming because I don't sleep

I wish I could at least 30 percent
Maybe 50 for pleasure then skip all the rest

If I only was more human
I would count every single second the rest of my life
If I just could be more human
I'd have so many little babies and maybe a wife

I'd roll around in mud and have lots of fun then when I was done
Build bubble bath towers and swim in the tub
Sand castles on the beach, frolic in the sea, get a broken knee
Be scared of the dark and I'd sing out of key

Curse when I lost a fight, kiss and reunite, scratch a spider's bite
Be happy with wrinkles I got when I smile
Pet kittens 'till they purred, maybe keep a bird, always keep my word
I'd cry at sat movies and laugh 'till it hurt

I'd buy a big bike, I'd ride by the lake
And I'd have lots of friends and I'd stay out too late

If I could just be more human
I would see every little thing with a gleam in my eye
If only I was be more human
I'd embrace every single feeling that came in my life

Would I care and be forgiven?
Would I be sentimental and would I feel loneliness?

Would I doubt and have misgivings?
Would I cause some sorrow too? Would I know what to do?

Will I cry when it's all over?

When I die will I see Heaven?

"Be Human (Tachikoma Song)"

From Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Part One: Many Are Called

"Roaming in between the world of sleep and awake
Seems so far away from where I've been and untrue but unafraid
In trusting my soul I know I must be taken to see the world that is
Not so far from now

"Imaginations come and sweep the shores of my mind
Letting it be, visions pass, and emotions arise
Letting them go, and beyond are doors I've never seen, opening one by one./i

Taken from "Living In The Shell"
From Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex

John stared down the corridor, his eyes darting, as if expecting trouble. It was quiet onboard Moya, too quiet as far as he was concerned. The condition filled him with dread. Many of their greatest difficulties had started when things were quiet.

A DRD scooted past him, on its way to perform some task. At least they have something to do. With just the three of us here, Moya feels like a house with all the children gone.

John's eyes went wide. Oh God, I'm quoting Shatner!

He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. You'd think that after all these cycles of having people after my ass, I'd enjoy the peace and quiet. Thing is, it's a little too quiet.

A look of despair crossed John's face as he realized the implication of his last thought. Oh God, I didn't just think that!

As if on cue, Pilot's voice came form his comm. "Commander?"

John hesitated a moment before answering. "Pilot?"

"Is everything all right?"

John hesitated again, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Fine. Why?"

"Just curious. Was there anyplace in particular you wanted to go?"

"No place special, Pilot, unless there's someplace Aeryn wanted to go."

"Officer Sun suggested going to Hertzagoavallia. It's a commerce planet."

"Sure. That'll be fine."

Pilot hesitated. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Fine. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind. How long until we reach Herzegovina?"

"Hertzagoavallia."

"Whatever."

"Approximately four arns."

"Cool."

John stared down the corridor again, sighed and started walking. "Maybe I'll just take a nap."

…and her next thought was, "…the hell…?"

Agent Caralynn Adrasteia looked around slowly, her gray eyes sweeping the smoothly flowing lines of the corridor she had suddenly found herself in. As an agent for Division Five of EarthGov Security, she was used to being confronted by unexpected situations. Suddenly finding herself in a corridor when, moments before, she had been walking with her partner through the corridor outside her apartment in Oneonta was beyond her experience.

"Okay," she said as she ran one hand through her straight, shoulder-length white hair. "I trust you have an explanation for this."

Next to her, Agent Murphy Greenfield turned around. He frowned when he saw a blank wall. "If I had an explanation, I'd feel somewhat better about it." Murphy reached into an inside jacket pocket and took out his celfon. He tapped a preset and watched the 'fon's small screen. "No signal. Why am I not surprised?" He ran a hand through his unkempt, sandy blonde hair and shook his head. "Why do things always go pear-shaped when we're around?"

"We're just lucky, I guess." Carly pulled out her own celfon and tapped a preset. "I'm not getting anything, either. Somehow, I don't think we'll be making it to your grandfather's house in Brisbane."

"I'm sure Roddy will understand if we're not there." Murphy watched Carly scan the corridor again, knowing she was reaching out with her enhanced senses. "Can you hear anything?"

"Nothing, really. Just quiet humming, like machinery, or…engines. Murphy, I don't think we're on Earth anymore. But, if that's true, then how did we get here?"

"That's the question. Maybe someone's developed some kind of transporter technology and decided to test it on us?"

"Great. We're stuck in someone's Star Trek fantasy. Just what I need. So what do we do now? Stand here or go look for answers?"

"Only one thing to do." Carly reached behind her back and drew her service-issue CZ75 Phased Plasma Pistol. She checked the energy cap and nodded down the corridor. "Let's go that way. Do you want to take point or should I?"

Murphy drew his own pistol. "You first. You're the one with the enhanced strength and reflexes."

"Fine. Watch my back."

Murphy raised an eyebrow as he fell in behind Carly. "Always," he muttered.

"…unexpected."

Scott Madigan looked around, surprised to find himself standing in the middle of a corridor. He frowned; a moment earlier, he and Zoe Baird had been walking down a street in the middle of Khatresh City on Kevelan.

"Ummm…Zoe? Where are we?"

Next to him, Zoe Baird looked around, her mahogany eyes scanning the corridor in ways Scott's human eyes couldn't. "Well, we're not on Kevelan anymore." Zoe turned completely around, red hair that nearly reached the deck swirling around her. "From the looks of things, we're on a starship, somewhere in space."

"It didn't feel like we went through a transmat. At any rate, I don't have my transmat bracelet on. Unless, of course, you decided to bring us here."

Zoe shook her head. "No, I didn't bring us here. I don't even know where here is. I'm not recognizing the stellar patterns."

Scott tugged on the collar of his leather duster and chewed his lower lip. He had encountered many unexpected things in his long life. Suddenly finding himself transported to an unknown starship by unknown means was nowhere in his life experience.

"Are we alone here," he asked.

Zoe looked around again. "There are three life forms that way; one's human, another I don't recognize, and a third is indeterminate. That way, there's a life form I don't recognize at all. And off that way, there are two human life signs, though one of them has some kind of low-grade radioactive trace." She turned to Scott and smiled. "So, what do you think?"

"I think something is going on, and I'm not sure I like it."

"But you're the one who's always telling me that I should embrace the unexpected."

Scott frowned. Sometimes he had to remind himself that though she resembled a human woman, Zoe was anything but. Though over half a million years old, Zoe had no real experience with being human. "Sometimes, the unexpected can be a good thing. Sometimes, though, the unexpected can lead to a less than pleasurable experience. Now, shall we track down these life forms you've found? Maybe we'll be able to get some answers."

"Would you rather I transport us there? It'll certainly be faster." Zoe waved a hand. When nothing happened, she waved again. "All right, that's unexpected."

"What?"

"I can't transport. Something's stopping me."

"Something's stopping you? Can you tell what it is?"

Zoe closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. "No. I'm not sensing anything. I can still sense you." She held up her hand. A moment later, a glowing ball of light appeared above her palm. "The rest of my abilities seem to be intact. Whoever's behind this apparently doesn't want us leaving."

"So we'll have to do this the old fashioned way. Let's get going."

The woman known to some as Arissia Mastani looked around the corridor she had suddenly found herself in. She considered the flowing lines of the corridor walls and smiled. "All right, this is different. Someone's trying to get my attention."

She reached out with her mind and scanned the area around her. "I'm on a starship. Fascinating." A moment later, Arissia found a number of life forms. Her smile grew as she started walking.

Pilot looked over his console again then looked up at John and Aeryn. "I'm not certain who they are, Commander, nor can I tell you how they came to be on Moya. They seem to have simply appeared."

"No one can just appear out of nowhere, Pilot." Aeryn leaned close to Pilot and frowned. "Did Moya pick up anything before they appeared?"

"Nothing, Officer Sun. I have no explanation for how they arrived here. However, I can tell you that at least three of them are human, Commander."

John glanced once at Aeryn then back at Pilot. "Human, Pilot? That's impossible."

"So is their appearing out of nowhere."

"True. If three of them are human, what are the other two?"

"Unknown. Their life signs don't match anything in Moya's data stores."

"Any signs of weapons?"

"Nothing Moya recognizes as a weapon. Still, it would perhaps be best to err on the side of caution."

"Way too many unknowns, Pilot." John glanced back at Aeryn again. "You locked the door to our cabin, right?"

The look Aeryn threw him made John wonder why he ever questioned her. "Of course I did. D'Argo is fast asleep, and 1812 is watching over him. Pilot, have the DRDs try and herd them toward the Center Chamber. We'll meet them there."

As they started from the den, both John and Aeryn drew their pulse pistols and checked the oil charges. "And I was getting used to the peace and quiet," John said.

It wasn't long before they found the first of the newcomers.

From behind a corner, John watched the man and woman walk down the center of the corridor. He tightened his grip on his pulse pistol when he saw the two carrying pistols. He glanced at Aeryn, on the other side of the intersection, and saw concern clearly on her face.

The woman stopped and looked around. She seemed to be listening to something and sniffing the air. "Someone's nearby," she said. She nodded in their direction. "That way."

The man nodded. "Whoever you are, we don't mean any harm. We're trying to find out where we are."

John frowned. That's an Australian accent. What the hell's going on? He nodded to Aeryn and stepped out into view. "Who are…you…wait a minute." John stared at the woman and frowned. "I know you."

The woman stared at him and lowered her pistol. She blinked several times and frowned. "Yes. You're…John Crichton."

"You're Caralynn Adrasteia, right?"

The man and Aeryn turned puzzled looks on them. "Carly," the man said, "would you care to explain this to your partner?"

"Something you want to tell me about, John," Aeryn asked.

"Remember back a couple of cycles, that time traveler that appeared on Moya? What was her name…?"

"Antandra Pandora. You went to Earth in the future. You encountered her?"

"Yeah. She showed me a very nice holding cell. And this is…?"

"Murphy Greenfield," the man said as he holstered his pistol. "Could this have something to do with this time traveler?"

"Don't know. Haven't seen her show up yet. Our internal sensors picked up five people we can't account for, so maybe…"

"Excuse us." The man's voice came from behind them.

They all turned. Down the corridor stood another man and woman, both dressed in leather. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the man, average appearance, blonde hair worn long and in a tail. The woman's red hair was incredibly long, almost reaching the floor. Her eyes were mahogany in color.

"And you are?"

"Scott Madigan," the man said. "This is Zoe Baird. We seem to have been brought here for some reason. Could…"

"Wait, I know you," Aeryn said. She took a few steps toward Zoe and nodded. "Yes. The same time you went to the future, John, I went farther into the future. Remember?"

Zoe exchanged a look with Scott then turned back to Aeryn. "I'm sorry, but I don't recall ever meeting you."

"It was on Earth. I was transported to your time. I arrived with Antandra. My name is Aeryn Sun."

"I don't know anyone named Aeryn Sun, and my time is the late forty-fifth century. Wait…you mentioned a time traveler? Do you know what the year was?"

"I think she said it was 7781."

Zoe nodded. "That's it, then. My time is 4495. It happened in your past, but my future. What time are the two of you from?"

"2291," Carly said. "I thought time travel was impossible."

"Apparently, it's not impossible, just very, very difficult." John took a deep breath and massaged his eyes. "Okay, so we have a little reunion. Do any of you know how you got here or why we're here?"

"I don't know about them," Murphy said, "but we don't even know where we are."

"We know we're on a ship," Scott said, "but how we got here is a mystery."

"Perhaps I can shed some light on this."

Aeryn looked back over her shoulder. Another woman was walking toward them. Unlike Carly, Murphy, Scott and Zoe, she seemed to be completely relaxed and was smiling. Her blonde hair was long, falling past her shoulders. She wore what looked like a long robe and sandals.

"And you're the fifth one. So, who are you?"

"Who am I? That's a long story, longer than you could possibly imagine." She stopped and leaned against the wall. "You know me, John. You've had moments when you've doubted, but you still believe in me. Murphy has his moments of doubt, but he believes in me, too. Carly doesn't believe in me at all, but that's all right. Scott gave up on me a long time ago. I don't know you…Aeryn, was it? I don't know you, so I can't comment one way or the other. Zoe, however, knows exactly who I am. Don't you, Zoe?"

Zoe's eyes went wide. "It's you! Did you cause this?"

The woman frowned and shook her head. "No, I didn't. Whoever's behind this is powerful, to be sure."

John held up a hand. "Hang on. Who are you?"

"I've gone by many names, John. At one time, long, long ago, I was known as Arissia Mastani. Since then, I've gone by a variety of names. I do have one name that I'm known by, at least on Earth."

"And that is?"

Arissia smiled. "God."