To Ceredin, the current scene in the maintenance bay resembles pictures she has seen of memorial ceremonies. She, Talyn, and Aeryn have carefully arranged Crichton on a table, and now everyone gathers around him. Chiana sidles close to D'Argo, and for once the Luxan makes no move to step away from her, not even protesting when she drapes one of his arms around her shoulders. Rygel circles in his hover chair, professing that he is only here out of curiosity while ringing his little green hands. Near Crichton's head, Aeryn stands as still as an inactive bioloid until Bialar tries to lay a hand on her shoulder and she slaps it away. Talyn, Ceredin, and Gemmi stand at the side of the table opposite Chiana and D'Argo. Most disturbing of all is Noranti, who stands a few motras away from the table, moving her body in a strange, slow dance, and muttering a chant to the Divine Eternal. The only thing clearly differentiating this gathering from a funerary right is the fact that Gemmi has busied herself with hooking cords into each of the transponders and linking them with her portable console. When the connections are complete, Crichton, Talyn, Ceredin, Bialar, and even Gemmi herself are represented as distinct charts on the screen.
"You're all a part of this?" Aeryn asks, gesturing to the thick bundle of cords.
"Ah, yes, well, it's a matter of contingencies," Gemmi explains. "If Talyn and Ceredin run into trouble, Bialar will be able to go in and retrieve them through his link with Talyn. I can monitor the process and decide if that's necessary. And of course if Bialar runs into trouble, well, I have a direct link with him."
"So, basically, you're saying there's enough room in there," Chiana leans over and taps Crichton's forehead, "for all the bioloids to get lost? What happens if you get lost too?"
"We are all taking a risk--" Gemmi begins.
Ceredin shakes her head and leans forward so her face is close to Chiana's. "No one is getting lost. Gemmi's just being paranoid. Besides, if you want to know the truth, I think she wants to analyze the data."
"Just get it done already so she'll stop yammering!" D'Argo snaps, jerking a tumb at Noranti. "I swear, if I hear one more frelling word about the Divine Eternal..."
Ceredin shrugs. "She thinks she's helping." She turns to Talyn. Through the link, she can feel his apprehension as well as the desire to plunge in and complete the task. "Shall we?"
His eyes are steady as they meet hers. He takes her hands in both of his and gives an almost imperceptible nod.
Ceredin stands alone on the command deck of a half-familiar Leviathan. The basic layout of the consoles and the presence of internal weaponry both remind her of Mina, but everything is lacquered in Peacekeeper black-and-red. She had expected the mind-realm to be strange, so the setting doesn't bother her. Talyn's absence, however, has her near panic.
She wasn't programmed for this. Every living consciousness she's ever seen has been frozen on a datachip, reduced to a structure of substructures and stored in a file. Even on a datachip, a living consciousness is chaotic enough to intimidate her, but being inside one, alone is nightmarish.
"Nightmare..." she mutters to herself.
She realizes she has seen this Leviathan before in the dreams that bleed through the link. She has walked through its corridors, starburst through the void with it, fought battles inside it, and in other dreams, in the worst kind of nightmares, she has seen it crippled beyond repair and has died with it.
"Talyn?" she whispers, turning in a slow circle and taking in the details of the command deck.
Like Mina, the Leviathan responds with chirps and blinking lights, but through the transponder she gets an intelligible response as well.
Yep. I can protect you this way.
"Hm." Ceredin glances down at her body, still clothed in the simple skirt and tunic she wears in the physical world. If she is going to be Talyn's captain, she should look the part. After a moment of concentration, she sports a full Peacekeeper uniform, complete with the appropriate insignia on the shoulders of the jacket. The leather molds to her body, clinging to her hips and thighs with the familiarity of a lover, and she decides she does understand why Aeryn Sun is so fond of her old uniform pants.
Cer, you look... Sebacean.
Her surroundings flicker like a hologram projected from a faulty console. Superimposed on the insubstantial Leviathan, Talyn's bioloid reaches out a hand for her.
She laughs and rolls her eyes. "And you just now noticed?" She sighs and closes her eyes, gathering strength for what she has to say next. "Your initial choice of avatar was better. Not better in general, just for this. We need to focus."
Of course.
When she opens her eyes, the Leviathan has solidified into a convincing dream setting again. "We can use your sensors to look for the wormhole data, can't we? You're equipped to collect information about your surroundings, and right now, that happens to be Crichton's consciousness. Run a scan, look for anything that doesn't fit."
You might want to look behind you.
"What--" Ceredin begins.
"Hands up! Turn around slowly."
The voice coming from behind her is Crichton's, and she complies. As she expected, he grips a pulse pistol like the hand of a an old friend, ready to squeeze if he feels the need. To her surprise, Aeryn stands beside him, her own weapon raised. Instead of her Peacekeeper leathers, she wears a short white dress made entirely of transparent lace and trimmed in fur that matches her pink-painted lips.
Ignoring the unlikely clothing, Ceredin locks eyes with Aeryn. "Why don't you put the gun down and explain that this was your idea?"
"No. Why don't you just admit you're part of a retrieval squad so I can shoot you?" Aeryn's finger twitches on the trigger, but Crichton lays a hand on her wrist, and she relaxes instead of firing.
"Wait," Crichton tells her, then turns to face Ceredin again. "I know you. Lisa?"
"That's what you call me," she agrees, shrugging to show she doesn't understand the nickname.
"Who the frell is Lisa?" Aeryn demands, pouting like a little girl. She folds her arms across her chest in a way that pushes her breasts up and stretches the lace even thinner.
Still pointing the pistol in one hand, Crichton runs a hand through his hair. "Uh, she was this girl these guys made... never mind. It's what I call Frankie's monster here when she's not showing up in my dreams."
"She's not real, is she?" Ceredin raises an eyebrow and jerks her chin toward Aeryn, who now lounges on one of Talyn's consoles, swinging her bare legs and flexing feet clad in spike-heeled pink sandals.
"Dreams aren't supposed to be real." Crichton's voice has taken on a dangerous edge. "They're supposed to be Looney-Tunes, Salvadore Dali, Douglas Adams, Hollywood bullshit, and I'm supposed to think they're real. Cause when I know I'm in my head, it means somebody's frelling with me."
"Well, this isn't exactly going as I'd hoped." Hands still raised in surrender, Ceredin points an index finger at one of Talyn's guns. "Do you know what happens if your dream avatar dies? Because I don't. At least, I don't know what happens to you. I'm backed up on Gemmi's datachip, so I'll be fine."
"No. My dream, my rules. I'm Talyn's captain." Crichton turns his head briefly and taps the back of his neck, now wearing a transponder. "Talyn?"
Don't worry, Cer. It doesn't work that way. Instrument panels bleep in a cascade of laughter.
Ceredin smiles. "Talyn isn't part of your dream. You're in his consciousness now. It doesn't matter that he's in yours. You're a local variable. Talyn, can you get rid of Dream-Aeryn?" The internal guns buzz, readjusting their aim, and she hastily adds, "Without shooting her, please? Lose Winona, too."
Oh. Yeah.
The false Aeryn vanishes along with the pulse pistol in Crichton's hand, and he swears.
"You know what we're here to do." Ceredin lowers her arms, places her hands on the main control console behind her, and leans back.
"Aeryn said you wanted to help."
Ceredin nods.
"But you came with Talyn in full-on destructive mode."
"He's scanning for the wormhole data." Ceredin indicates a readout on one of the screens.
"And let me guess: when he finds it, bam-- no more Ancient puzzles to play with?"
"You'll be free."
"I can't let you do that. You need to get out of here, now." Crichton takes her by the shoulders and squeezes hard, bringing her face close to his.
"We don't need you to 'let' us. It'll just make it easier for you if you aren't in our way." She pushes him away, using her avatar's bioloid strength.
"I didn't say I won't let you, I said I can't! I'm warning you-- Damn." His eyes focus on something behind her and go wide. "Talyn, get out of here now. Starburst, pull the plug, do whatever you have to do!"
Ceredin whirls around to face the view screen. Don't panic, Talyn! It's too late to starbust. But we can still fight it.
Whatever it is.