Chapter One

Captain Morgan Langtree ran through the final system's check, flipping the last lever above her head. She hoped the payload she was carrying wasn't too heavy. She chuckled to herself. If she was successful in her mission, it wouldn't matter. The load would be split between two ships. Morgan flipped the comm button. "Langtree to Houston Control. I'm all set on this end."

1 "Houston Control to space module Osiris, we have launch in T minus 10."

Morgan lowered the visor on her helmet and double-checked the straps on her command chair.

"9."

She pushed the Def Leppard CD into the slot, fast-forwarding the tracks to "Rocket."

"8."

She caressed the Celtic knot pendant beneath her flight suit.

"7.6."

As the primary jets fired, Morgan hit the play button, Def Leppard nearly drowning out the countdown.

"5.4."

The secondary jets fired, building, smoke billowing from the large rockets. She wrapped her hands tightly around the controls.

"3.2."

"Liftoff," she whispered, feeling the ship break from the moorings and start to rise into Earth's atmosphere. The vibrations caused her teeth to chatter as the sleek, modified shuttle rose into the multi-colored sky of dawn. She felt the rockets break away and the Osiris rocketed out of the blue and into the black of space starting it's mission: to bring home missing NASA Commander John Crichton.

Or to strand Captain Morgan Langtree with him.



"Okay, let's see what we've got," Morgan said to herself as she floated through the shuttle, flipping levers, turning knobs, tweaking systems. She settled back in the command chair, watching as the information scrolled by on the screen. Morgan tapped her foot to the Sarah McLachlan CD she had put in. ".have nothing to give.mmmmm.have nothing to ." She sat up and stopped singing, smiling to herself as she adjusted her scanners, peering out of the cockpit into the stars around her. "Uh-huh. There you are." She watched as the anomaly grew, a radiation wave that started as a faint red swirl and then changed to blue, growing larger, its mass gaining strength. Morgan switched the shuttles control back to manual, pulling the Osiris away from the growing wormhole.

"Oh shit." The controls were frozen, the Osiris slipping closer and closer to the blue swirls. Morgan strapped herself in as the shuttle began to rock, throttling the thrusters into full reverse. The ship shuddered as it tried to break free of the wormholes gravitational pull, slowly shutting systems down one by one. "I don't think so!" Morgan yelled, trying futilely to gain control of her ship. She squinted as the ship moved closer and closer to the wormhole, throwing her arms over her face as it exploded, sucking in the Osiris and disappearing.



Captain Bialar Crais marched up the corridor trying to wake up. It was not like Talyn to wake him so abruptly. He walked onto the command deck. "Calm down," Crais commanded. He gazed out the view port, noticing the strange lights begin to dance before the ship. "Talyn, get us the frell out of here!"

The Osiris blasted through the anomaly, barely missing Talyn as it zoomed past. The wormhole closed as Talyn came around, Crais holding on to the console for dear life. When the young Leviathan ship finally stopped, Crais stared in disbelief at the ship drifting before them. He shook his head. "Not another one." He watched, waiting, as Talyn scanned the ship. "Bring it aboard. Then we'll find Moya."



Morgan lowered the Osiris' ramp, and slowly walked down it, her 9mm in her hand. She peered around the edge, then back in the other direction. "Okay, somebody has got to be on this thing."

"Who were you looking for?" Crais asked from behind her.

Morgan whirled around, both hands on the grip of her pistol. "Right. Somebody is here." She moved toward Crais. "I don't know who you are or whether or not you even understand me, but I am looking for Commander John Crichton."

Crais backed up, his hands up in a sign of surrender, wondering why he didn't grab his pulse pistol. "I understand you. And Crichton is not here."

"What?!" Morgan yelled. She grabbed a hold of Crais' jacket, slamming him against the Osiris, her pistol to his head. "Look buddy, if you understand me, nod once."

Crais nodded, surprised by Morgan's strength. She stood only up to his chin, with short brown hair, curling around her neck. Blue eyes like Crichton's bore into him.

"You understand me. Good. If you don't want me to blow your head off, you'll take me to Crichton. You do know him, right?"

Crais nodded, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Morgan backed away and up into the Osiris. "Good! Tell him Captain Morgan Langtree is here!" she yelled. She leaned against the bulkhead as the ship sealed back up, her heart racing as she threw the pistol across the shuttle. Morgan closed her eyes. "Good thing I didn't need to use it," she muttered. "Leave it to NASA to forget the ammo."



"She refuses to talk to anyone but you," Crais snapped. He looked at Crichton's image in the clamshell, his arms folded, a look of pure annoyance on his face.

Crichton stood there in shock. "Did she.did she tell you her name?"

"She claims her name is Captain Morgan Langtree," Crais answered.

"Captain?" Crichton's mouth dropped open. "Morgan is a Captain?"

"Who is she John?" Aeryn asked quietly as she stepped up behind him.

Crichton peered over his shoulder at her. "She's my cousin. Morgan helped me design the propulsion system for the Farscape."



Crichton couldn't get off the transport pod fast enough, picking his feet up and sliding down the stairs, landing on Talyn's deck at a full run, Aeryn not far behind him. He saw the Osiris' ramp lower, slowing down as a pair of blue jean clad legs appeared. "Morgan!"

Morgan turned at her cousin's voice. "John!"

Crichton caught her as she ran towards him, swinging her around in glee as if she weighed no more than rag doll. "What are you doing here?" he fairly screamed.

"Coming after you, you moron!" She held Crichton at arms length. "You look good for someone who is believed to be dead more than three years."

Crichton shrugged, his grin growing. "Been through hell and back, but I'm okay."

Crais leaned in the hangar doorway, getting his second good look at Morgan. "Crichton, Talyn is picking up a signal. We need to starburst out of here."

"Then let's get going. Aeryn and I will stay on board for now," Crichton answered, never turning to look at Crais.

"You understand him?" Morgan said, the expression on her face one of confusion as she pointed to Crais' retreating back.

Crichton nodded. "Yeah. They have these things here called translator microbes, little organic."

Morgan's yelp cut her cousin off. She looked down at the DRD that was rolling away. "That damn thing bit me!" Morgan accused. She looked at Crichton, momentarily dizzy and shook her head.

The woman that had arrived with him stepped forward. "No, it didn't bite you. It injected you with the translator microbes John was telling you about." She looked at Crichton. "Crais must have instructed it to do so." She held out her hand. "Aeryn Sun."

Morgan took Aeryn's hand, shaking it. "Morgan Langtree." She turned back to her cousin. "Farscape functional?"

"It needs work."

Morgan nodded. "Well, we should have it up and running before long. Then we can go home." She noticed the look that passed briefly between Crichton and Aeryn. "Okay, warning bells are ringing here. You don't want to go home?"

Aeryn cleared her throat. "I'll go see if Crais and Talyn need any help," she remarked, leaving the landing bay.

Morgan looked at Crichton, then at Aeryn's back as she walked away. "Oh.it's okay. I.uh.understand." She held up a hand as Crichton began to say something. "What do you want me to tell Uncle Jack?"

Crichton turned Morgan to face him. "You can't go back either. The wormhole doesn't work that way," he said softly. "Believe me, I've tried."

She looked at Crichton, her blue eyes meeting his in understanding and resignation. "I suspected as much when I volunteered for the mission." She smiled, turning back to the Osiris, Crichton's hand in hers. "Must not be all that bad, though."

"This place has its moments."

Morgan laughed. "I can tell." She shrugged. "Oh well. But hey, at least I found you. Now I can give you all the goodies I brought."



Crichton saw the wide-eyed wonder on Morgan's face as he gave her the tour through Talyn. The last stop was the bridge and he walked through the door, his arm around her shoulders. "Hey Captain Crunch. Want to give her the tour of the command deck?"

Crais turned and scowled at Crichton. "You've done such a good job so far, why don't you continue?" His brown eyes shot daggers at Crichton.

Morgan could feel the tension between the two men and she approached Crais, using her best crisis management tone of voice. "Because you are the Captain of this ship and it's your job to show me around the command deck," she answered, looking up at him. "By the way, I'm sorry about the whole pistol incident yesterday."

Crais glanced over Morgan's head at Crichton, who rolled his eyes. He took Morgan's hand. "Bialar Crais, in case Crichton over there didn't tell you."

Morgan smiled. "No. That seemed to slip his mind." She let Crais lead her over to the command console and she found herself getting absorbed in the intricate systems of the gunship.

Crichton looked at Aeryn. "This is not good. He's hitting on my cousin and she is just eating it up like a Big Mac."

Aeryn smiled, her dark eyebrows rising. "Hitting on?"

"Flirting. Showing interest. You know, what we did for over two years before finally admitting we were in love," he drawled, leaning over her and kissing her nose.

Aeryn nudged Crichton. "Stop it. Once she gets to know him, she won't want anything to do with him." Morgan's laugh made Aeryn pause and they both looked at Crais and Morgan. "Then again."



"And this is Moya, Talyn's mother. He's a hybrid between Moya and a Peacekeeper gunship," Crichton said, sounding like a proud parent.

Morgan ran her hand down Moya's living bulkhead. "Bio-mechanoid? John this is.wow!" She looked at him. "Who are the Peacekeepers?"

Crichton looked a little uncomfortable at her question. "The Peacekeepers are the local military. Both Crais and Aeryn were once part of them." He glanced at her. "Pretty impressive huh?" He continued up the corridor towards the command deck. "They're called Leviathans. Moya has a symbiotic relationship with a being named Pilot."

"Pilot?"

"Yeah. He's cool. You'll like him. He helps with Moya's systems and controls." Crichton held his arm out, allowing Morgan to proceed into the command area before him.

She stopped in her tracks, staring at the blue humanoid bent over a console, arguing with a tall, strange looking alien and another light gray skinned woman. "Well, there's no doubt that we are not alone in this universe." The blue humanoid looked up at Morgan's voice, the others falling silent. She noticed another alien standing to one side, a metal mask covering half his face.

"Zhaan, D'Argo, Chiana, Stark, this is my cousin Morgan, fresh in from the Milky Way," Crichton introduced.

Zhaan and D'Argo exchanged a quick glance and approached them. "Welcome Morgan," Zhaan said softly, smiling at her.

"Thank you." She gazed at the Delvian. "You are beautiful," she blurted out. Crichton had told her of Zhaan, recently returned to them after Moya's crew assumed her to be dead.

Zhaan dipped her head in thanks. "Crichton told us you were sent to rescue him."

Morgan nodded. "Looks more like I'm stranded with him."

"Is that a problem?" D'Argo asked.

Morgan looked up at the tall Luxan. "Actually, no. I was prepared for that possibility when I took on the mission." She shrugged as she ran her fingers through her hair. "And to be honest, part of me was hoping I would be."

"Stranded here?"

Morgan turned at Crais' voice. "Yes." Aeryn had followed him into command.

"You've always been the adventurer," Crichton teased. He noticed the look of exhaustion that came over her face. "And you have just run out steam."

"It's been a long couple of days." She gazed at Crichton. "But now that I've found you and know you're alive, I can get some shut eye." She gazed at the others. "Is there someplace I can rest? The Osiris is not exactly comfortable."

"You are more than welcome to remain on Talyn. I have more than enough room to accommodate you," Crais offered.

"I don't think so, Crais," John jumped in.

Morgan crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side. "Why?"

Aeryn saw the look of annoyance cross Crichton's face. She stepped up to Morgan. "You can rest in my quarters."

"Or mine," Chiana added. The others watched silently, interested in the battle of wills that had ensued.

"Thanks, but if Crais has the room, that's fine with me. I'm not going to put anybody out and I really need to stay near the Osiris," Morgan answered. She turned on Crichton. "What's with you anyway John?"

"Commander Crichton does not trust me," Crais supplied.

"Damn skippy," Crichton added.

"Sounds like a personal problem to me," Morgan quipped, her arms dropping to her sides. She patted Crichton's cheek. "I'm a big girl. I can take of myself." She kissed his cheek and took leave of the others.

Crichton grabbed Crais' arm. "If anything happens to her." he warned.

Crais' eyes narrowed at him as he looked from the hand on his arm back to Crichton's face. "Don't worry, Crichton. Nothing has happened to her yet." He jerked his arm from Crichton's grip, turning on one heel to follow Morgan back to the landing bay.

Crichton stared at Crais until he rounded the corridor. "Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of."



Crais quietly watched as Morgan tore apart a container from the Osiris and open a carton, drinking from it. "Couldn't sleep?"

She jumped and turned towards him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "New place," she answered apologetically. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Crais nodded as he moved towards her. "You didn't. Talyn did. He was concerned. We are not used to having company."

Morgan's eyebrows rose. "He was concerned about me? That's awful sweet of him." She put the container back. "I.uh.hate to admit this, but I also couldn't find my quarters."

Crais looked around before answering. "Talyn is still growing, but I imagine his size can be overwhelming." They started back up the corridor.

"How do you communicate with him?" Morgan asked.

Crais stopped walking and lifted his ponytail. "It's a neural interface transponder. We have been linked since shortly after he was born."

Morgan stared at the transponder blinking at the base of Crais' neck. She wondered how it worked. She reached out to touch it, jerking her hand back when he abruptly turned around. "Does it hurt?"

Crais shook his head. "Only when it was first inserted. Talyn was designed to work with one person, but two people can join together and control him." He folded his hands behind his back and began to walk back up the corridor, Morgan falling into step beside him. "It has its occasional disadvantages."

Morgan thought about it for a moment, her mind churning at the possibilities. "Let me see if I understand this. You're linked to Talyn through a cybernetic neural transponder, allowing the two of you to communicate through the link and to facilitate the running of systems by a single crew member."

Crais' eyebrows rose. "Precisely."

Morgan stopped. "So then I would have to guess that if one of you gets sick or injured, it could affect the other."

Crais smiled at her. "You have an astute grasp of how the technology works." He waved his hand over a panel, the door to Morgan's quarters opening.

"Thank you, Captain Crais."

Crais' smile had never wavered. "You may call me Bialar if you wish."

Morgan blushed and looked away briefly. "Good night Bialar."

He remained outside of her door for a moment after it closed behind her. "I concur, Talyn. She is nothing like Crichton."



The next morning, Crichton found his cousin head first in a panel on the Osiris, the only thing sticking out being her jean-clad legs. Metallica played from a small CD player by her toolbox, echoing across the bay. He walked up behind her, grabbing her ankle and tickling the back of her leg.

"Hey! Let go! Dammit!" Morgan wiggled in Crichton's grasp, trying to back out of the panel. "Ow!" She squirmed the rest of the way out, rubbing her head. "You creep!" she laughed.

Crichton looked at the cut on her forehead. "Sorry 'bout that." He handed her a clean rag from her box. "Where's Captain Crunch?"

Morgan dabbed the cut, staring at her cousin. "You mean Bialar? He's on the bridge I believe." She tucked the rag in her pocket, turning to carefully pack away her tools.

Crichton jumped up on one of the unloaded containers. "So you're on a first name basis? You haven't been here two days." He threw his hands in the air. "Next thing you'll be telling me is that the two of you have been recreating together!" he yelled.

Morgan looked at him from her bent over position. "Recreating?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know. Knocking boots, rolling in the hay, sinking the pink, getting frelling jiggy with it!" He had hopped off the container, his blue eyes flashing.

Morgan wiped her hands on her jeans. "Did I miss a meeting? Did someone forget to leave the memo on my desk?" she asked confused, picking up a clean cloth to finish wiping her hands. "Jeez John. The last time I checked I hadn't made it a habit to jump into bed with every guy that looked my way."

Crichton crossed his arms, a smug look on his face. "What about that one guy? What was his name?" He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember. "Steve.Steve."

Morgan raised her eyebrows. "Steve Ramson?"

"Yeah." Crichton pointed at her. "Him."

"We had been dating for two years. What is it with you?"

Crichton sighed. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, Morgan. And Crais is not the guy for you."

Morgan laughed. "I don't even know him yet!"

"And you don't need to. I want you to move onto Moya," he said.

Morgan threw down the cloth she had been holding. "You told me there was no room on Moya."

"I'll move in with Aeryn."

"No."

"You're moving."

"No." Morgan closed the toolbox and turned off the radio.

"Yes!"

She stood up, her hands on her hips as she got into her cousin's face. "No. You cannot make me."

"Watch me. You're going to Moya and that's it. End of discussion." He turned away, heading towards the entrance to the bay.

Morgan followed him, her anger flaring. "Who died and left you in charge?"

Crichton whirled around, staring down at her. "No one. But as long as you're here, which will probably be until we both croak, you are not staying with Crais."

Morgan crossed her arms, a look of defiance on her face. "Maybe I want to stay here," she simply replied. "I think I'm old enough to make that decision."

Crichton stepped back, regarding Morgan. "Oh, you would. Tall, dark, brooding and moody as hell, that's the way you've always liked them. I'm telling you Morgan, you're." Crichton was cut off.

"Commander Crichton, you may want to come to the bridge," Crais' voice said over the comm.

"Not now Crais. I'm busy!"

Crais had heard every word of the conversation between Morgan and Crichton. He had to admit she was full of fire and the last thing he wanted was for her to move onto Moya. "Talyn has picked up a Peacekeeper signal."

"So?" Crichton stared at Morgan.

"It's Scorpius."

Crichton turned on one foot, heading to the bridge, Morgan right on his tail. "Right. That changes everything."

"Who's Scorpius?"

Crichton waved his hand over the panel that opened the bridge doors. "Our worst nightmare."

"And this changes everything because." Morgan continued, her eyes meeting Crais' briefly.

"Scorpy is a Peacekeeper scientist who thinks I know some wonderful secret about how wormholes work and don't work," he answered. "And he has been after me hot and heavy ever since he found out about me, thanks to Captain Courageous here." He shot Crais a look. "It changes everything because Talyn has enough fire power to blow his ass away."

Crais stood in the middle of the command deck quietly listening. "Crichton, if Scorpius has found out about Morgan."

Crichton whirled on him. "What'd you do? Call him?" he accused.

"I dislike him as much as you do," Crais answered calmly.

"John, I'm on my way over to Talyn." Aeryn's voice resounded through the bridge comm. "Moya is preparing to starburst to safety."

Crais looked at Crichton. "If he thinks you're on Moya, we may have a chance."

"And if he doesn't fall for it?" Morgan asked.

"Then we are in for one hell of a long fight," Crichton answered.

Crais turned abruptly towards a console. "How long?" He waited as Talyn answered him, the look on his face growing darker.

"What?" Morgan moved towards Crais.

"Talyn has analyzed the signal. Scorpius is with a retrieval squad." Crais looked up at the circular ceiling, concentrating on the information Talyn was feeding him. "Officer Sun, are you on board?"

"Yes."

"Talyn, initiate starburst now!" Crais commanded.

The young Leviathan gunship took off like a shot just as the Peacekeeper cruiser appeared.



Crais paced the darkened bridge, lost in thought as Talyn slowly orbited an uninhabited planet that had a heavy cloud covering. The Peacekeeper retrieval squad had called their bluff, following Talyn. The Leviathan had voluntarily shut down most of his systems, minimizing the chance of detection. He checked the console again. A movement at the corner of Crais' eye made him turn. "Morgan," he simply stated.

"Hi. I.uh.couldn't sleep and thought maybe you'd like some company." She handed him a mug containing a deep brown brew, steam wafting from the liquid inside. "It's called coffee."

Crais hesitantly took the mug, sipping the coffee. He grimaced slightly. "Interesting."

Morgan chuckled. "It's an acquired taste." She sat at one of the consoles. "Aeryn told me why you and my cousin don't get along. And I can understand his point of view." She sipped her coffee. "I would really like to hear your side of the story."

Crais stared at Morgan, her blue eyes showing genuine interest. "Don't be so sure of that," he remarked quietly. "You may not like what you hear."

Morgan sat her mug down and walked over, looking up at him. "Why does everyone want to tell me what to do?" She crossed her arms. "I think that's for me to decide."

"Really? Why?" His eyes bore into hers.

Morgan didn't back down. "Because if I am to spend the rest of my life here, then I want to know the people who are to become my new family. Is that a good enough reason for you?" She watched the expression on his face change from suspicion to curiosity. "Everyone has two sides, Bialar," she whispered.

The way she said his name coaxed Crais into action. He laid his hands on her shoulders, his lips meeting hers fast and furious, never giving Morgan a chance to protest. He let her go, stepping away from her as if she had branded him. "Just remember Morgan, when I tell you my side of the story, you were the one who asked me to tell you. Not the other way around," he said quietly, his already rough voice even rougher. He marched off the bridge, leaving Morgan staring after him.

She licked her lips, the taste of him lingering there as her heart pounded. "You may be right, Crais," she whispered to herself.

The ship rocked beneath her and the two mugs slid off the console. Morgan caught one, the other shattering as it hit the deck. A noise she had never heard before, an odd chirping sound, echoed through the bridge as all of the systems suddenly flared to life. Morgan turned and looked out the view port, the other mug sliding from her fingers. Before them, hanging in the atmosphere, was the Peacekeeper cruiser. "Crais?" Morgan called, turning. She nearly slammed into him as she started off the bridge.

Crais laid a hand on her shoulder steadying her. "Listen to me. Get Crichton and stay out of sight," he commanded.

Morgan nodded, not in the mood to argue with someone who had far more experience with the overwhelming sight outside. "Now I know how Princess Leia must've felt," she murmured to herself as she ran to Crichton's quarters.



"Scorpy! Long time no see," Crichton said, staring at Scorpius on the clamshell. "What brings you to my little corner of the Uncharted Territories?"

"You do, John. You have something I want," Scorpius replied.

Crichton made an annoying buzzer sound. "Wrong answer Leatherface. I like what's left of my brain where it is. So blow it out your ass!"

"Then maybe your cousin Morgan would be willing to talk to me," Scorpius remarked.

Crichton glared at Crais. "You did call him, you piece of dren."

Scorpius actually laughed. "Unfortunately, Captain Crais is not at fault. We picked up Talyn's transmission announcing Captain Langtree's arrival." He tsked, tsked at them. "It's amazing how one can pick apart a secure transmission."

Crichton looked at Crais. "So shoot me."

"Don't tempt me," Crais answered.

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, such hostility. Now, about Captain Langtree."

Copyright 2001 Beth A. Carpenter