"Shattered Mirror" Part 2
Time: Between Different Destinations and Eat Me
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters, and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
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Reality replayed itself through her unconscious mind.
She could see herself in Crichton's module, powering away from Moya, again thrilled with being able to fly free. As she banked around the massive Leviathan, Aeryn admitted to herself that all the work Crichton had done on the small vessel hadn't been a waste of time. The module handled well, responding quickly to her direction.
As she swooped past the mouth of the wormhole (and tried to ignore the fact that it was many times the size of Moya), Aeryn threw a succession of switches. The console's screens began to fill with information.
"Pilot, the sensors are on-line and recording. How does it look from there?"
"It all looks all right so far, Officer Sun. How long were you planning to stay out there?"
"Long enough for a few passes. I'd feel better if I still had my Prowler, but it wasn't exactly designed for observations like this." Aeryn banked the module around for another pass.
It was on the fourth pass that things went wrong. Aeryn wasn't sure what had happened, but the module started to drop into the wormhole. None of her maneuvering broke whatever had taken hold of the module. Even pushing the engine to its limit didn't help. Aeryn could barely hear Pilot and Chiana calling out to her.
The module began to tumble and Aeryn lost consciousness.
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There was a voice at the edge of the darkness, repeating itself in the most annoying way.
"It can't be you…it can't be you…it can't be you…it can't be you…"
Aeryn moaned and rolled onto her back. "Shut up, Stark," she said. A moment later, she opened her eyes and sat up. The cell she found herself in was cruelly designed, with only a single metal bench opposite the door, which was blocked by a containment field.
As she stood, Aeryn patted herself down, relieved to find herself uninjured. Standing as close to the field as she could, Aeryn looked at the row of cells on the other side of the narrow aisle. One cell down from hers stood Stark. The former slave's single eye was wide with shock and the uncovered portion of his face wore a look of panic.
"Stark?"
"Who are you? Who are you?"
Aeryn closed her eyes and tried to ignore the headache that was beginning to pound behind her eyes. "Stark, it's me. Aeryn."
"No, no, no! You can't be Aeryn! Aeryn's dead! She's been dead for half a cycle!"
Aeryn took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice as level as she could. "Stark, I am Aeryn. I'm not dead."
The Banik stared at her, the panic beginning to clear from her face. "You're telling the truth, aren't you? You really are Aeryn."
"Yes, Stark. It really is me. Now, what the frell happened? How did Crichton become a Peacekeeper captain? If you're captured, where's D'Argo, Rygel and Jool?"
"Who's Jool?"
Aeryn rubbed her eyes. Why is no conversation with Stark easy, she wondered. "Why do you think I'm dead?"
Stark blinked several times before answering. "What am I supposed to think? Half a cycle ago, while we were at the Diagnosan's Planet, the neural chip that was supposed to be removed took over Crichton's mind. He took off in his module, you followed him in your Prowler. I'm not sure how he did it, but Crichton collided with you and forced you to eject. You went down in a frozen lake…and drowned."
Aeryn lowered her eyes. "Yes, that is what happened. But Zhaan did some kind of Unity thing and brought me back at the cost of her own life."
"We were never able to retrieve your body. After he picked up Crichton's module, Scorpius ordered an assault on Moya and Talyn. Crais showed his true colors and ordered Talyn to starburst away. Moya tried to run, but she was still weak from Grunchlk's treatments. She couldn't starburst. Pilot tried to evade, but the carrier's brag cannons were too much for her. Moya was destroyed."
Aeryn shook her head, not believing what Stark was telling her. "That's not what happened. Crais and Talyn destroyed the Marauder Scorpius was on. We've managed to stay ahead of the Peacekeepers since then. If Moya was destroyed, why are you still alive?"
"Zhaan and I were on the planet. Scorpius's soldiers killed her and took me prisoner. Not surprising, really; I was always Scorpy's favorite torture victim."
"But how did John become a Peacekeeper captain?" Still shaking her head, Aeryn backed up and sat on the bench. "Somehow history's changed. The half cycle I lived through is entirely different from what you just described. Not the least of which is, Moya was not destroyed." She closed her eyes and tried to think. "We needed some supplies, so everyone but me and Chiana went to a commerce planet. Moya was on her way to the rendezvous when we came across a wormhole. Since John wasn't there, I took out his module to take some readings. Something went wrong and I was pulled in. The next thing I know, I'm here."
"Maybe the wormhole brought you here."
"Maybe." Aeryn ran her hands over her face and winced. Her headache was beginning to get worse. "John once told me that on his planet, the scientists speculated that wormholes are not only passages through space, but possibly through time. Maybe even passages to different realities. Maybe that's what happened. I've passed from my reality into this one, where history took a different path."
"I've heard of a theory that states every decision has an infinite number of outcomes, and that each outcome is a different reality."
"I don't know. At any rate, I have to get out of here."
The sound of heavy boots against the deck plates silenced the two. Two guards appeared in the door as the field shut down. "Prisoner stand!" Aeryn stood slowly. "Hands!" She held out her hands and winced as the second guard slapped on a set of binders.
"A little snug, don't you think?" The guards ignored her. "Where are we going?"
"The Captain wants to see you."
"Maybe you'll get your answers," Stark said.
"Maybe." One guard shoved Aeryn forward. "Or maybe my headache will just get worse." She glanced back at the guards and muttered, "Though I can't see this getting any worse."
TO BE CONTINUED
Time: Between Different Destinations and Eat Me
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters, and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
---------------------------------------
Reality replayed itself through her unconscious mind.
She could see herself in Crichton's module, powering away from Moya, again thrilled with being able to fly free. As she banked around the massive Leviathan, Aeryn admitted to herself that all the work Crichton had done on the small vessel hadn't been a waste of time. The module handled well, responding quickly to her direction.
As she swooped past the mouth of the wormhole (and tried to ignore the fact that it was many times the size of Moya), Aeryn threw a succession of switches. The console's screens began to fill with information.
"Pilot, the sensors are on-line and recording. How does it look from there?"
"It all looks all right so far, Officer Sun. How long were you planning to stay out there?"
"Long enough for a few passes. I'd feel better if I still had my Prowler, but it wasn't exactly designed for observations like this." Aeryn banked the module around for another pass.
It was on the fourth pass that things went wrong. Aeryn wasn't sure what had happened, but the module started to drop into the wormhole. None of her maneuvering broke whatever had taken hold of the module. Even pushing the engine to its limit didn't help. Aeryn could barely hear Pilot and Chiana calling out to her.
The module began to tumble and Aeryn lost consciousness.
----------------------------------------
There was a voice at the edge of the darkness, repeating itself in the most annoying way.
"It can't be you…it can't be you…it can't be you…it can't be you…"
Aeryn moaned and rolled onto her back. "Shut up, Stark," she said. A moment later, she opened her eyes and sat up. The cell she found herself in was cruelly designed, with only a single metal bench opposite the door, which was blocked by a containment field.
As she stood, Aeryn patted herself down, relieved to find herself uninjured. Standing as close to the field as she could, Aeryn looked at the row of cells on the other side of the narrow aisle. One cell down from hers stood Stark. The former slave's single eye was wide with shock and the uncovered portion of his face wore a look of panic.
"Stark?"
"Who are you? Who are you?"
Aeryn closed her eyes and tried to ignore the headache that was beginning to pound behind her eyes. "Stark, it's me. Aeryn."
"No, no, no! You can't be Aeryn! Aeryn's dead! She's been dead for half a cycle!"
Aeryn took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice as level as she could. "Stark, I am Aeryn. I'm not dead."
The Banik stared at her, the panic beginning to clear from her face. "You're telling the truth, aren't you? You really are Aeryn."
"Yes, Stark. It really is me. Now, what the frell happened? How did Crichton become a Peacekeeper captain? If you're captured, where's D'Argo, Rygel and Jool?"
"Who's Jool?"
Aeryn rubbed her eyes. Why is no conversation with Stark easy, she wondered. "Why do you think I'm dead?"
Stark blinked several times before answering. "What am I supposed to think? Half a cycle ago, while we were at the Diagnosan's Planet, the neural chip that was supposed to be removed took over Crichton's mind. He took off in his module, you followed him in your Prowler. I'm not sure how he did it, but Crichton collided with you and forced you to eject. You went down in a frozen lake…and drowned."
Aeryn lowered her eyes. "Yes, that is what happened. But Zhaan did some kind of Unity thing and brought me back at the cost of her own life."
"We were never able to retrieve your body. After he picked up Crichton's module, Scorpius ordered an assault on Moya and Talyn. Crais showed his true colors and ordered Talyn to starburst away. Moya tried to run, but she was still weak from Grunchlk's treatments. She couldn't starburst. Pilot tried to evade, but the carrier's brag cannons were too much for her. Moya was destroyed."
Aeryn shook her head, not believing what Stark was telling her. "That's not what happened. Crais and Talyn destroyed the Marauder Scorpius was on. We've managed to stay ahead of the Peacekeepers since then. If Moya was destroyed, why are you still alive?"
"Zhaan and I were on the planet. Scorpius's soldiers killed her and took me prisoner. Not surprising, really; I was always Scorpy's favorite torture victim."
"But how did John become a Peacekeeper captain?" Still shaking her head, Aeryn backed up and sat on the bench. "Somehow history's changed. The half cycle I lived through is entirely different from what you just described. Not the least of which is, Moya was not destroyed." She closed her eyes and tried to think. "We needed some supplies, so everyone but me and Chiana went to a commerce planet. Moya was on her way to the rendezvous when we came across a wormhole. Since John wasn't there, I took out his module to take some readings. Something went wrong and I was pulled in. The next thing I know, I'm here."
"Maybe the wormhole brought you here."
"Maybe." Aeryn ran her hands over her face and winced. Her headache was beginning to get worse. "John once told me that on his planet, the scientists speculated that wormholes are not only passages through space, but possibly through time. Maybe even passages to different realities. Maybe that's what happened. I've passed from my reality into this one, where history took a different path."
"I've heard of a theory that states every decision has an infinite number of outcomes, and that each outcome is a different reality."
"I don't know. At any rate, I have to get out of here."
The sound of heavy boots against the deck plates silenced the two. Two guards appeared in the door as the field shut down. "Prisoner stand!" Aeryn stood slowly. "Hands!" She held out her hands and winced as the second guard slapped on a set of binders.
"A little snug, don't you think?" The guards ignored her. "Where are we going?"
"The Captain wants to see you."
"Maybe you'll get your answers," Stark said.
"Maybe." One guard shoved Aeryn forward. "Or maybe my headache will just get worse." She glanced back at the guards and muttered, "Though I can't see this getting any worse."
TO BE CONTINUED
