"Some say that if you travel in a straight line long enough you'll eventually just come back to where you began, and those strangers you meet along the way are people you already knew."

- Scribbled on a napkin in a tavern on Oustis III, author unknown

THE TRANSITION, SHE DISCOVERED, WAS MUCH MORE TOLERABLE when it was shared.

When they regained their senses, Aeryn found herself stepping away from Iain slightly more quickly than she might otherwise. The 'hug' to sync their meshes had been tight and close and she had to admit that she enjoyed it, he was strong and solid and it had been awhile since she'd had a Crichton that close to her. Even though they'd technically just met, she found herself rather liking him.

Even though he'd insisted to the last doppelgängers that he'd had no experience with an Aeryn in his Divergence, she could not mistake the frank interest in his eyes whenever he looked at her. He was courteous and mindful and kept his distance, doing his best to respect both her personal space and person.

Frankly, he was a little too respectful. She'd also noticed that he never looked directly at her, always focusing on a spot just a fraction above her head, apologizing if he had to touch her or get too close for any reason. The only time he ever looked her over with any kind of personal interest was when she wasn't looking, catching him out of the corner of her eye.

He seemed to be almost deliberately avoiding anything that could be construed as an overt attraction.

"What did you do," he asked as they waited for the next transition, "back in your reality?"

He tentatively sipped his drink. They'd come out of the transition on Earth in the small town of Rachel, Nevada, just outside of Area 51, and found a small cafe, though it was strangely empty of staff, though it had been open, the power on. Iain had written a note on some stationary from an equally-empty office in the back, stating that they'd helped themselves to some food and drink and apologizing for the theft, as it were.

A paper calendar with a rather scantily-clad woman with obviously fake breasts on one wall listed the day as Wednesday, February 23, 2022. He had no idea how recent it was, or the last time it had been turned. Flipping it to March netted him another near-naked plastic-packed woman, this time on a vehicle very likely priced out of reach of anyone who worked here.

In the distance, they saw more megatowers, signs of advanced tech. Aeryn was contemplating the small blue cube - the PHATE - and hoping it would work as promised.

"Can I say, you move like a soldier."

"I was a soldier, a Special Peacekeeper Commando - Pleisar Company - and a pilot." She ruminated. "Honestly not sure what I am now.' A quiet sigh. "Feel like a mountain climber, sometimes."

"I thought so. I was one too, test piloting a new kind of ship. One Twenty-First Shock Battalion, called the 'Corsairs'. Managed to climb to Commander. You?"

Aeryn noticed he was till focusing on a point just above her head.

"Iain, when I'm speaking with someone, I prefer they look me in the eyes."

He shifted down and looked directly at her. Aeryn decided on the PHATE and wove her hair into a braid and threaded the small cube into it, her hair thick enough to hide it.

"Apologies. Old habits."

"I was an Officer." She thought for a moment. "If I recall correctly, that's roughly equal to a Captain in the American Air Force. Though not exactly."

"I was an theoretical scientist in the Navy up until the Channel Strike in '99." He smiled grimly. "We took London in the summer of 2001, then used that as a base to strike into Europe." He pushed his cup away. Not to his taste. "After we seized the Farm in North Uist, we used that as a launching point to test our new space planes." He pulled a menu over and scanned it. "That's when I got picked to test the Farscape module the Brits had developed."

"A soldier scientist. Were you at war with them?"

He nodded.

"War of Independence. Act of rebellion, sedition, call it whatever. Three hundred years as serfs under the British Empire? We fought 'em the whole time. Finally, we kicked 'em outta North America, then took the fight to them." He pondered. "When I left the English were suing for peace. Dunno how it went from there. I went into orbit and next thing I knew I was punching out into some other galaxy, as far as I knew."

"Did you end up in Peacekeeper space?"

"Yeah, met those."

"What happened when you arrived?"

"Had an accident. My module collided with an asteroid and I was picked up by a Carrier. Met the Captain, guy named Bilar Crais." He rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. "Heard of him?"

"Yes."

"Decent fellow." Aeryn blinked. "Treated me like an ambassador. Helped me fix my module, no end of hospitality. I was in their space for a year or so."

"Really." She was slightly stunned by that admission. Diplomatic Peacekeepers. Well, it was a multiverse. Anything was possible.

"Did you meet an Aeryn in your universe?"

"Sure." He put the menu back. He felt oddly un-hungry.

"Things not work out?"

He seemed confused for a moment then smiled.

"Oh, because you mean in every other universe we've been in so far, we, uh… they're together? I didn't have time for any real relationships. Like I said, I've been at war my whole life."

"That doesn't mean there wasn't an Aeryn."

He shrugged.

"The one in mine was a High Commander in charge of a Carrier Defence Fleet. I got grilled for awhile about the wormhole and when I couldn't really help them, she sent me on my way with a diplomatic envoy back to Earth. She was mated to a man name Velorek, interesting fella; so no, no Aeryn. Not for me."

Aeryn swallowed. She'd not thought of Velorek in a long time. A High Commander in an humane Influence. Mated to Velorek. Diplomatic missions. Frell.

"They went to Earth but I got stuck trying to demo it for the high and mighty and ended up pot-shotted through another hole and got flung around - kinda like we're doing now. I wasn't in any single universe long enough to do more than just say 'hey' before I bounced to the next." He shrugged. "Guess I'm kind of an explorer now. I'd bounced around a few universes until I got stuck in the one in which you found me. Where I lost my module, too." He continued. "As I said earlier, I'm glad you appeared when you did." He smiled ruefully. "I should apologize for how I act sometimes. In my universe you just never looked at a woman directly unless you were involved. You had to be careful as a man. You could lose everything if you looked at the wrong woman a bit too long. An errant, even accidental touch, the wrong word at the wrong time, it could all cost you."

"Seems a bit harsh."

"Just the way it was." He glanced around the restaurant. "Please don't take it personally, like I find you repulsive or some impossibility like that. It's meant as a sign of respect." He paused and she nodded for him to continue. "Your culture follows you, no matter how far you go."

"I agree." She smiled at him over the rim of her cup. "'We are kind of involved, in a sense. I think we're two of a kind. I prefer equals."

"Do you have any?" He asked and she gaped at him for saying it.

"All right, now that was a good line," she jibed, "for someone from your universe."

He chuckled.

"Yeah, sorry, just came out."

"It's all right," she smiled back, "that was pretty good."

She sipped her coffee.

"Nice to talk to a combat veteran," he leaned back in his chair, "they always get it."

"Your home sounds rather grim."

"When you're in it," he said, sounding thoughtful, "guess it's normal. War was a perpetual state, all I knew." He scoffed as he said it, "war as home."

"I don't know if I've been anywhere that felt like a home, except maybe Moya." She sighed. "That's gone now, too."

"Aeryn… I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose family."

It was emphatic, empathetic and completely sincere and Aeryn smiled. She'd only sketched out the barest of bones of her story in the last Universe and then only skimmingly. Yet, he seemed to feel it. She liked that. It wasn't that John hadn't been empathetic, just once home, he'd gone into 'Messiah' mode as Crichton had called it, he was consumed with making his world better. She had shared that dream for a while, though in the end, she'd found it all a bit oppressive and the compulsion to move, to be active, to use her skills and power to suit herself had compelled her to leave.

The pirate? Well, he was an entirely different barrel of yorla. With him, everything was an impenetrable wall, an uphill climb and she wasn't sure if the life he led was one she either would want or could tolerate for long. Her love for Crichton - perhaps it was just the idea of a Crichton now - remained unwavering. Still, she felt being compatible with one was becoming annoyingly problematic.

Yet, it felt refreshing to have met a Crichton that didn't seem to care about any of that, who just wanted to be and learn new things, who's obvious attraction to her was new… just new. Always a Crichton and Aeryn somewhere, Aaron and Joan had said. If she believed in fate or destiny - and she was leaning toward it - neither had ever indicated that it had to be a Crichton she'd known already…

"Thank you. Things change," she said, mirroring her own thoughts, "I suppose home has to be where you make it, I've learned."

Iain seemed not to agree entirely.

"Home is anywhere you're comfortable." He nodded. "I've never been comfortable," he told her, "don't know that I wanna be. Too far to go. Too much I haven't seen yet."

"That why you wanted to come with me?" She finished her coffee. "To experience new things?"

This time he looked directly at her without prompting.

"Absolutely."

"In that case," she checked her pockets and realized she had no currency to pay for their coffee, "damn. Do you have any money?"

"I do. Shit, it's from my universe…" he checked his pockets, came up with several dollars. "they have the stinkin' Queen on them. We hadn't switched currencies when I left." He squinted at the figure on the dollar. "Maybe they'll think it's Canadian."

"Probably best we're not here when they bring the bill."

Iain dropped the money on the table and they hastened out before anyone came round to collect.

"As I was going to say," Aeryn squinted into the sunlight, "we should probably find the next transition point." She held up the small scanner Joan had given her. "This should narrow it down."

They began walking up the dusty road, Aeryn sweeping the scanner trying to hone in on the strongest indicator.

"We'll also have to hope we get closer to your universe soon," Iain said, watching for any vehicles, "remember what Aaron said about too many transitions. It can be damaging to our cellular structures."

"The meshes should offer some protection."

"True, but not forever. I think it'd be easier on us if we could find something to transition in, though."

"I agree. Where to find it is the problematic part."

They walked on a way and Aeryn spied a tall box by the side of the road. Approaching it, she saw it was a phone with a digital interface and directory. Fortunately, it was for travellers and did not require currency to use.

"Aaron and Joan did say that there was a very strong likelihood that most of the nearest to us universes contain a 'native' Crichton and Aeryn…"

Iain eyed the phone.

"They also said it was more likely we'd appear near them. How near?"

Aeryn looked around at the flatness of the place. She had few good memories of the last time she was here, as it were.

"Let's check if the Crichton here is listed…"

Aeryn tried the directory and found nothing. She switched to a news index and gasped. Iain swore behind her shoulder. The date listed on the news was November Sixteenth, 2022.

"UNITED NATIONS STATES 'THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD'. WORMHOLE DEVICE DESTROYS MOON. World experiences devastation all across its surface. Hague orders execution of John Crichton for Crimes Against Humanity'.

The last entry that was close to the current date simply said, "OPERATION EXODUS FAILS."

"Well, shit." Iain muttered. "Seems more recent."

Aeryn stepped back with a sigh. The scanner on her belt beeped.

"Grim," was all she said about that news, then gestured further down the highway. "The readings are stronger that way." She squared her shoulders. "Shall we?"

"Gonna be hot," Iain pulled his jacket off and slung it over his shoulder.

"Sebaceans aren't good with heat," Aeryn informed him, grimacing up at the sun in the cloudless sky. It was halfway to the horizon. Their feet kicked up dust into the dry air.

"Not long until evening, though, a couple of hours," Iain amended, gauging the sun's position "should be cooler then."

"Well - the transition point is that way," she pointed, "I'll just have to endure it."

"Could use your jacket as a kind of umbrella. Keep a chunk of sunlight off you, at least - a degree or two cooler under it."

"When it gets to it, I will." She nodded with a slight smile at the advice. "Perhaps we can find a vehicle or get a ride along the way."

"Not impossible."

They walked for a while, the heat edging into her nerves but not serious as yet, they walking away from the road as the blacktop radiated heat like an open oven.

"You, uh…" Iain began and then stopped.

"Yes?"

"Sorry, it was a personal question. None of my business. Forget I said anything, please."

"Iain - not your world, not one of those women - so - you can ask me anything," she smiled at him.

"I was… just curious…" he seemed uncomfortable, "you're involved with someone? A Crichton of your own, as it were?"

The question paused her brain for a moment.

Was she? 'Her' John on Earth? Was that over? It felt over. The 'Pirate'? Was that ever going to be a thing? Some sharp little needle in her brain said… no. So, what did that make her…?

"I think I'm unattached." She saw him frown.

"You think…?"

"At the moment." Another one of those smiles she knew Crichtons had a difficult time resisting. "Keeping my options open."

"I see." Iain raised his eyebrows at some introspective thought but said nothing further.

A half-hour later, they spotted the first vehicle, a blue car that had been pulled to the side of the road. They hastened to it and Iain arrived first.

"I don't think we want this one," he said grimly. The windows were all up and clouded, the inside thick with flies. Aeryn could see four bodies, all with gunshot wounds to the head. A man was holding the gun and Aeryn surmised that the rest - a woman and two children - had been killed by his hand before he took his own life. They had been dead for some time.

"No, I suppose not." Aeryn replied as grimly. Proceeding up the road, they saw other vehicles, some burned out, others empty but devoid of fuel, all covered in dust, dirt and grime. Some had dessicated bodies in, some were on the road. Many had been killed in some fashion.

In the distance, they saw a streak of light in the sky - a meteor, followed by another. Very dark clouds gathered on the horizon.

"Chunks of that moon coming down," Iain said as they wove through the cars. Aeryn saw a large crater off the side of the road.

"The scanner says the transition point is at least another half-hour that way. Toward Area 51." Aeryn pointed further down the clogged road. Smoke was rising in the distance. A gust of wind - stinking of death - a smell both were all too acquainted with - blew past them.

"Nothing good comes from wormholes, apparently."

"I don't know about that," Aeryn said, eyes on that approaching dark sky, "I wouldn't have met you without one."

"Huh," he said, "still can't say that's a plus."

"I'll decide that, if that's all right with you." A smile. He nodded.

"It's fine with me." He halted and surveyed the destruction ahead. "Can't say I like any of that, though."

"That's where we have to be, I'm afraid."

"Right."

He led the way and they found the traffic getting thicker, more craters on the road, wreckage of cars in them, and more military vehicles were appearing, more bodies in them, dead soldiers and civilians littering the area.

"Just let one transition be a beach," Iain grumbled as they made their way carefully through the wreckage, "or a decent tavern. Nothing exploding, no disasters, the world just spinning as always."

"A decent tavern sounds just about right," Aeryn agreed, and he knew she was just trying to avoid talking about the carnage, "what's your drink of choice?"

"Scotch," Iain said, stepping over a body. He assumed it was a body. It was very badly burned. "There was a brand on my Earth - Kirikenny's. Absolutely great stuff, smooth and just the right amount of burn going down. Smoky and woody." He shook his head. "Someday I may get the chance to see if it exists anywhere else."

"The next one," Aeryn said, halting at a large pile-up of vehicles, "we'll go looking there."

"Sounds good." He pointed to the vehicles. "Past those?"

"Just past," Aeryn nodded, pointing the scanner at them, "it's centred on that large vehicle… there."

She indicated a huge military truck, heavily armored, its back doors blown open, the interior full of bodies splayed all over, some having spilled out. It seemed to be the focus of all this traffic, with many more military and civilian bodies strewn all around it.

"A definite battle. The civvies are all armed as well. They wanted whatever was in that truck."

"Some kind of technology, perhaps?" Aeryn speculated. They made they're way around and finally halted at the truck. The stench of bodies lying in the road for days was intense. Aeryn tried breathing through her hand, but it didn't help.

"It wasn't tech," Iain said, indicating a body in the truck, still sitting up, one bullet hole squarely between his eyes.

"John," Aeryn breathed.

"Executed, but by them." Iain looked at the dead civilians scattered in and around the truck. "Subterfuge and someone found out."

"Trying to hide the man who killed the world," Aeryn sighed. Another series of streaks in the sky. Several kilometres away, lightning cracked and thunder growled. Somewhere in that storm a chunk of moon hit the ground, close enough they heard the crash and a few moments later, felt the ground rumble.

"The transition point is in that truck," she told him reluctantly. "Any moment now."

Iain grimaced and climbed into the back, and began pushing bodies out. They were tightly pack and it was highly unpleasant work. When Aeryn made to step in to help him, he waved her off.

"Won't take a minute," he told her, grimly toiling. When he'd cleared a space, he held out a hand and pulled her in. "Watch where you step."

"Thirty seconds," Aeryn said, stepping near him. She gagged on the stench.

He reached and pulled her close.

"One wishes for more pleasant surroundings in which to do this," he said with black humour, "beggars and choosers and all that." He glanced down at the dead Crichton near them. His face had been calm, as if he'd not been surprised by any of this. Somehow he doubted the man had been.

Aeryn looked everywhere but, choosing to focus on his face. Outside another large and immensely loud boom - the truck shook so hard they almost lost their footing.

"None of this will matter in 10 seconds," she told him, "and I hope never to think on this again."

"You and me both," Iain assured her as the familiar pattering feeling of millions of tiny ballbearings struck them. Fate - or good timing was with them as they vanished only two seconds before a chunk of lunar surface nine kilometres in diameter slammed into the area and destroyed almost half the state.