…CLICK…

Hello Dad…

It's me, coming at you from… well; I don't know exactly where to tell you the truth. We're hiding out in an asteroid belt that Pilot says will keep us safe… for a while.

Yeah… I know it's been awhile since I've kept up with my mail. But things have gotten busy… more than our usual shoot, duck, run, and hide type of days. The last few weekens… er, I mean weeks. Sorry, it gets confusing trying to keep everything straight sometimes. Use the wrong term around here and you at the very least get looks like you're the Special-Ed kid on the block… at the worse, somebody starts shooting.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah… the last few weeks have been interesting to say the least.

Our little menagerie of misfits has grown rather unexpectedly.

We've picked up three new hitchhikers, so things are pretty chaotic aboard Moya. But what else is new?

(Snort)

I suppose the easiest to start with is the last one to come aboard. He's another Sebacean, though of a kind I haven't run into before. Aeryn says he's most likely from a run-off colony that got lost to Peacekeeper Command somehow. His name is Andar… Andar "Something", I didn't get too much of a chance to catch his full name. Aeryn figures that his people have been lost for so long that they forgot most of what they knew about space flight.

Judging by the way he crashed his shuttle into Moya's landing bay I think she's right.

I'll have to say he didn't have much experience with aliens either… he was pretty shocked when he got a look and Dargo and Zhaan for the first time, thought he was going faint right there.

Been there, got that T-shirt, don't you know.

Turns out he was also having problems adapting to the new environment. His immune system was lacking certain anti-bodies because of his home-world's isolation.

Poor guy… slipped into a coma for a few days just after he landed. Unfortunately, Rygel had traded away all the basic immunity injections, so Aeryn had to take our other two 'guests' down to a commerce planet and trade for some.

He doing better now, and seems like an all right guy.

(Sigh)

Which brings us to our next contestant. Dad, you though Olivia had a temper as a teenager… she's got nothing on a teenage Delvian. Yup… Ole' Blue has got herself a protégé.

And I have to say on first impression this girl, Malika, is mean-spirited, stubborn, and violent… and those seem to be her good points, it all goes downhill from there. She's almost as hard and bitter as Aeryn… almost. And she carries the biggest gosh-darn knife I have ever seen. What is it with women out here and big weapons?

Zhaan seems to like her though, even if it isn't possible for two people to be more different than each other. Blue's a good judge of character and she seems to think this girl is worth working with, so I guess we'll have to rely on her judgment in this case. Oh yeah, Blue Junior wants to be a Priest like Zhaan by the way… go figure.

And I though Pip was enough of a handful most times.

Aeryn appears to be withholding her verdict… seeing Malika also happen to show up with another Prowler… and you know how our resident Peacekeeper likes her guns and gunships.

And to make things just a tad more interesting… Zhaan's new student doesn't seem to like our third new roommate at all.

(Chuckle… short cough)

Yeah… can't say I blame her much. I'm not too sure I'm all that crazy about him being here either.

We seemed to have picked up ourselves a honest-to-goodness hitman. It seems there's another group running around out here called the "Scarrans", and they have this criminal organization something like the Mafia back on Earth called the "Black Syndicate"… at least that's what the name translates too anyway.

And this Syndicate uses guys called "Shrike" or "Enforcers" as hitmen to do their dirty work.

And of course, Chiana has to go find herself one and bring him home like a lost puppy.

(Long breath)

To make something of a long story short… Pip loves him like a kid with a new toy; she's even given him a name, Berret or something, because he just had a number before. Dargo absolutely hates him, and this Shrike doesn't seem too fond of Big D either. Aeryn doesn't trust him… I can't see what's not to trust about a guy wearing enough metal on him to build a 57' Chevy out of, and with some strange knives attached to his forearms that would have an old Samurai warrior drooling with envy.

Rygel just makes the usual complaints about more people being around to eat the food stores, but sometimes I think he's watching this Berret like he knows something he's not telling the rest of us.

It's probably just my imagination, and Old Sparky is just trying to sniff out if he's hiding any foodcubes somewhere inside all that armor.

Like I said before, the new Blue Chick doesn't like Mr. Metal-head. I'm sort of leaning her way… this guy we guess is Sebacean, but he's the total opposite of Andar. He never smiles… his face is always a blank. And he looks at the rest of us as if… well, as if we're non-entities to him.

I suppose I should cut him some slack. It turns out he had some kind of control device the Scarran had locked around his neck, so he's not use to being a free person yet.

And he does seem to respond to Chiana on some personal level. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing I'm not too sure yet… given Miss Sticky-Finger's nature to get into trouble.

But it's his eyes, Dad. I can't get past his eyes… they're so dead. They remind me of that time you took me to the aquarium when I was eight. Do you remember the shark tank, Dad?

His eyes are dead… like a shark's.

(Hum… sound of drumming fingertips on a surface)

Zhaan of course is in her glory with all this going on.

She's the atypical mother hen with new children… but I can't say that's any different than usual. Blue has always looked out for us all in a 'Mom' sort of way. I just worry that maybe she's bitten off more than she can chew with this 'little sister' program. That kid Malika is so angry most of the time.

But hey, Zhaan's only roughly twenty-five times older than me, so what do I know?

I also worry about Chi and her new 'friend' (Rygel calls him her 'Pet' by the way.) But I know better than to make it an issue with her right now. If I did that, she'll just become more stubborn about having her way. So I guess the best course of action is just to sit and wait… and see what happens.

And hope for the best… if there is such a thing out here in the Territories.

The new guy, Andar… I feel sorry the most for. I heard he was taken from his home by aliens, and somehow dumped out here. He looks to be accepting his fate pretty well, though sometimes he seems a little overwhelmed by what's happening around him. But I think he'll make it just fine.

At least I hope he makes it.

Rygel is his annoying self as always. Caught him in my quarters the other day going through my stuff. I swatted him with a bunch of rolled up starcharts like the family dog. He scooted out the door on that floating chair of his yelling about my disrespect for his royal position.

It was pretty funny.

Aeryn is as charming and friendly as always too… that is to say, not much at all. But since our new arrivals she seems to be warming up a bit with some other bodies to give the evil eye too for a change.

I guess its better the alien you already know than the ones you've just met… huh?

Dargo is still pissed, but that's his usual state anyway. Strangely, he seems to be taking his cue from me concerning our new guests… and actually being more tolerant. If you can call only having a few close calls at open brawling in the med-lab being tolerant.

Zhaan's helping out soothing that savage beast… and has been smoothing plenty over with the big guy.

That woman just about does everything!

(Chuckle)

Pilot and Moya are just plain happy to be free… and schlepping all our butts all over… staying one or two steps ahead of the Peacekeepers.

I guess… its just the same old, same old here, Dad.

Give Olivia and Bobby my love and tell them I hope to find a way home soon.

I love you too, Dad…

Don't give up hope.

(Bump… and sound of the recorder being picked up.)

This is John Crichton… Astronaut… Lost somewhere in the Territories…

…Signing off.

…CLICK…