Casually Commander John Crichton walked
down the tiers of Moya.
He knew that his shipmates were still
watching his every move closely.
So he also knew that he couldn't
carry out his plan, without getting caught in the act.
And that
wasn't an option.
He would need all the time he could get.
So
therefore, there was no alternative.
He needed a diversion.
"What
áre you two doing?"
D´Argo walked in on Chiana and
Jothee who made a startled reaction to his sudden presence.
"We
were just...just talking..."Chiana slowly answered to her
lover.
Jothee looked upon his father.
Did he suspect
something?
"I was showing him your quarters."Chiana quickly
added.
"Yeah,..yeah,...I was telling Jothee about his courageous
father!"
"What kind of thing did you tell him?"D´Argo
kindly asked.
He smiled.
"Nothing embarrassing I
hope."
Chiana looked at her lover, and was surprised he really
didn´t have a clue.
Lovingly he joined her side, laying his
hands on her fragile shoulders.
"She told me about your
imprisonment on Moya." Jothee spoke.
He tried to cover their act
entirely, but he didn´t have to anymore.
D´Argo didn´t
know, because he didn´t want to see it.
Chiana kissed him.
A
feeling in her stomach was telling her that this was wrong.
She
was betraying D´Argo in the most terrible way.
Sleeping with
his son...
She kissed D´Argo, but did not look him in the
eye.
"Crais and Talyn have just contacted Pilot. They found
someone who can help Moya heal.
A Diagnosian."
"And what
about Crichton?" Chiana suddenly said.
D´Argo grabbed
Chiana even tighter and sighed gently.
"He´s also gonna
take a look at Crichton."
Chiana didn´t speak for a
second.
Jothee sat down on the bed and looked at his father, and
his lover.
Could he tell him?
Would he understand?
This is
the first time he´s ever fallen in love with someone, whilst
not in slavery or in captivity.
Someone who wants the same thing,
loves the same thing.
And they want to do it together.
And they
have all the time and freedom in the galaxy to do it.
Could D´Argo
understand?
No, he wouldn´t.
He would be furious. He
would try to kill him. He would be blinded by his love for Chiana,
this small, grey fugitive Nebari girl.
The first person that
D´Argo really got to love ever since Jothee´s mother,
Lo´Laan, died.
Jothee understood.
Their relationship
should remain a secret.
For now.
"You really believed I
wouldn´t help Crichton?"D´Argo said
surprised.
"No,...it´s just..."
"Of course I
would´ve helped Crichton. He put his own life at risk to save
my son!"
"Yeah, but...this morning you seemed to want to kill
Crichton..."
"Chiana,..."D´Argo said to Chiana and
tried to calm her down, "Crichton is my friend. Maybe he is acting
crazy lately, but he´s still my friend. You know what Scorpius
did to him.
And you know I can get pretty angry sometimes, but
hey..."
He touched her shoulder again.
"Everybody says some
crazy stuff when they´re angry, but they never mean it. Most of
the time anyway."
He smiled again.
It killed Chiana that he
was being so friendly.
Perhaps if he beat her, or betrayed her,
then it would have been so much easier to confess everything to
D´Argo. To hurt D´Argo.
But now every lie piles up on
all of the other lies, and one day everything is going to blow up
into their faces.
Suddenly Pilot´s voice creaked through
the comms.
"I have received another message from Crais and
Talyn."he spoke.
"On my way, Pilot." D´Argo said,
kissed his princess and left the room.
"Wait!"
Jothee and
Chiana followed him to Command.
There Zhaan, Rygel and Stark also
stood.
"The Diagnosian has accepted our proposal and has send us
the following co-ordinates."
The crew watched how Pilot
displayed a hologram of a planet called 'Valadoc'.
"Never
heard of it." Rygel said.
The planet seemed to be barren, with
few colonies on either side and covered with lakes.
"The
Unchartered Territories have a way of always being unknown or
undiscovered, Rygel." Zhaan said to the Hynerian Dominar.
"But
that doesn´t mean this Diagnosian is telling the truth. It
could be a trap."
"It can´t." D´Argo said. "This
Diagnosian has the best reputation of them all. His name is mentioned
on several planets."
"Scorpius...Scorpius...Scorpius..."Stark
said over and over.
"Shut up you raving lunatic!" Rygel
snapped at the Banik slave. "I still say it´s a
trap!"
"Don´t I get to say anything?"Jothee said
and the crew was surprised to hear him speak about this
subject.
"Crichton put his life at risk to save mine. And now
he´s going insane because of his generous choice.
Should he
be punished for his heroic act? Or should he be praised?
I think
he deserves help. Right now. Don´t leave him to suffer like
this."
"Where ís Crichton?" Chiana suddenly
said.
It took a second for the crew to understand what she was
saying.
"Aeryn is gone to look for him." Zhaan replied. "Why
d´you ask?"
I want to know, that if we choose to nót
go to this Diagnosian, how long Crichton can be able to stay sane, or
survive for that matter, until we find anóther Diagnosian that
does seem the right one."
"I agree." D´Argo said.
"This could be our only chance to get help for Moya and Crichton.
I
say we do it."
"So do I." Stark said. Suddenly he seemed
perfectly sane.
"And I also agree."Zhaan said.
"Alright."
Rygel said. "But I still have a bad feeling about this."
"What
do you think, Pilot?"Zhaan asked him. "How´s Moya
doing?"
"She´s doing fine, thank you Pa´u Zotah
Zhaan, but she´s still in a lot of pain."
Zhaan closed her
eyes briefly as she was reminded of her necessary, but brutal act to
save Moya from death.
Pain instead of death, Zhaan wondered, is
that a good trade?
"I have already established a course to
Valadoc. We shall arrive their within 4 arns."
"Will Talyn
meet us there?" Zhaan asked.
"I,... and Moya,...hope so."
Pilot said and his holographic face disappeared.
"Where were
you?"
Aeryn walked towards Crichton and grabbed him by the
arm.
"I was hungry," Crichton replied and pulled his arm
away.
"Why are you asking?"
"I have been looking for you
for an entire arn!"
"What´s then that damn
important?"
"Yóu are!"
Aeryn almost seemed
desperate to get through to Crichton, but he seemed even more jumpy
and vacant as usual.
"We have found a Diagnosian that can help
you." she said.
It seemed like she was expecting some kind of
reaction from Crichton.
"Is that it?" he suddenly and angrily
replied.
"Is that the reason why you were looking for me this
entire time?
The only thing what I need to know, is what time we
arrive there and what time I finally get to take this frelling thing
out of my brain!"
He walked off.
Aeryn looked at the love of
her life and sadly looked away.
"I was only trying to
help."
John stopped. He turned around slowly.
For a second,
he seemed to smile, but when Aeryn blinked again he seemed
sad...
"I´m sorry."he said. "I´m just, very,
véry confused right now. The Scorpy in my head is driving me
insane.
Keeps telling me to turn myself in, that I should
surrender myself to Scorpius.
I´m trying so hard nót
to go insane, and it´s just..."
Aeryn put his hands on
his cheeks.
John looked at her.
Tears came out of his tired,
and crazed, sparkling blue eyes.
"I can´t take it
anymore."
They lovingly embraced eachother.
John´s sad
and crying face turned into a victorious smile as he smelled Aeryn´s
hair.
For a microt, Scorpius got out of charachter, but swiftly
returned to his former role, as Commander John Crichton.
"It
won´t be long now." Aeryn said.
"In 3 arns we´ll
be with the Diagnosian and he´ll get that frelling chip out of
your head."
"You´re right."John said.
"You´re
absolutely right.
It won´t be long now."
Crais had
indeed sent out a message to Moya, telling her that he found a
Diagnosian.
But Harvey had intercepted the message before Pilot
could read it and changed the co-ordinates.
Instead of Valadoc,
the medical facility, Moya is heading towards a Peacekeeper
controlled planet called Yo´brakh, where Scorpius´s
Command Carrier will be waiting for them.
