Nothing's Quite The Same Story by: Neuroscpr and Can Pt 30 by: Neuroscpr Setting: After DWTB, spoilers up until that episode Rating: R Summary: John and the other displaced members of the crew embark on their own missions as Moya heads into unknown territory



The arns had passed aboard Moya and now John was alone with the group of soldiers in command. Aeryn and the others had moved on, not particularly interested in the bizarre rituals of earthbound humans.

"Man, that's creepy," Havermeyer, said as he stood staring out the forward portal. It had been many days since he'd seen the bright light of his sun. To be faced with one endless shade of blue every time he looked out was unnerving.

John watched from his seat against the wall and smiled. For the first time in so long he was with his own kind. Four men, Dunbar having been moved a while ago, were in the room with him. Four guys that knew what football was, four humans. Yet there were still things nagging at his mind. Things he couldn't just shake off.

"There's still one thing I don't get," he said.

Lifting himself off the cot that Jool had provided, Dunbar nodded at the missing astronaut. "You want to know how we did it," he guessed.

Crichton shook his head. "I know I'm just one guy out here, but how the hell did you manage to make a wormhole? How did you get here?"

Dunbar, a pleased look on his face, pushed himself up a bit further. He raised his weak hand and pointed at a symbol on his tarnished uniform. "We've been busy since you disappeared," he said.

"Yeah, I figured," John, replied.

"When you disappeared, the top brass wanted to file you away as a mission failure," Dunbar elaborated. "They figured it was a system malfunction or something. But your father, Jack, he wouldn't let it rest."

"My dad?" John asked with a little boy's look on his face.

Dunbar smiled. "Most people don't know this, but the whole wormhole project started with him and a small group of engineers at IASA. They worked on every aspect of your mission, searching for a clue to what happened. It took a while but they figured it out. Something no one had ever seen before."

"An interstellar wormhole," John finished.

Havermeyer and his two military men watched in silence as the two scientists went over the details of the Wormhole project. Not one of them understood most of it. They knew what they had to know. That had to be enough.

"With that knowledge, a multi-national effort began," said Dunbar. "It was the only way we could ever have hoped to finish this quickly. To build a device capable of starting wormholes."

"I can't believe it you've been out here all this time," Havermeyer interrupted. He looked Crichton over and whistled. "Damn."

John's face took on a more sober expression. "Almost four years," he whispered. "Chasing wormholes and getting the dren kicked out of me by every species in the universe."

He abruptly stood and started towards the door.

"Where are you going Crichton," Havermeyer asked suspiciously.

John stopped. "To take care of some things," he said. "You guys should start getting your ship ready. Who knows what will happen if we stick around here too long."

He walked out the door and heard whispers from the group of soldiers. 'They probably want Earth as much as I do right now.' As he stepped out into the hallway, a flash of red caught his attention.

D'Argo moved quickly out of the shadows and faced his long-time comrade. "What's the matter John?" he asked. "Why aren't you in there with them? I'd think you'd want to know everything that's happened on Earth."

John responded to his friend's words with a sad smile. "Yeah, you're right D'Argo," he said. "I should shouldn't I?"



The two of them sat silently together in the enormous den. Pilot worked diligently at the control console while Aeryn, perched on top of it, watched.

"I'm glad that you're alright Pilot," she said after a long pause.

The creature looked up at her and procured the most sincere smile he could manage at the moment. "Likewise Aeryn," he said. "Moya and I are very pleased to see that you are well from your travels."

Aeryn caught a slight hint of strain in Pilot's voice. She eyed him carefully without trying to be too obvious. The effort did not work.

"Is there something wrong?" Pilot asked.

She shook her head and raised a hand to stroke his textured frame. "Was it bad for you Pilot," she asked. "For Moya?"

Pilot's expression turned grave at the question. He sunk slightly in his seat but managed not to show it too much. "Moya and I were very sad to see you all go," he said. "The shock of losing our crew and our senses was very taxing. Recovery has been slow and difficult."

After several microts, Pilot realized that Aeryn was not going to respond right away. In an effort to keep the conversation going, he continued. "Did you find what you were looking for Aeryn?"

Aeryn forced herself to meet his eyes. The guilt inside of her was compounded by the sad look in Pilot's eyes. "I don't know what I was looking for," she said.

"The frell you don't!"

The low hum of a throne sled heralded Rygel's presence in the room. Floating into view, the old Dominar looked sourly upon the two beings. "You wanted to get away from here as much as the rest of us," he accused.

Uncharacteristically, Aeryn did not deflect the insult. "That's not true," she managed.

"Of course it is," Rygel continued. "And for good reason! What kind of life could you have here? Only Crichton is fahrbot enough to believe he could be happy living on Moya."

Aeryn started to respond but was silenced by Pilot's next words. "Dominar Rygel is correct," he said with some difficulty. "We would not force any of you to say aboard against your will. All of you chose to leave us."

The ex-peacekeeper looked from Rygel to Pilot but could not meet their eyes. Training her own on the floor, she forced a nod.

"Thing are not as they were then," she said.

Rygel snorted in agreement. "No, they're certainly not," he said.



Jool almost fell out of her seat as the sound of breaking glass reached her ears. It was all she could do to keep from screaming. Getting up, she moved quickly to the site of the crash and found Chiana lying on the floor.

"Chi? What's the matter?"

The Nebari looked up and frowned at her. "Nothing's wrong," she said. "I just slipped."

Jool smiled at her patient and shook a finger at her like Interon parents did to their children. "Now Chiana, that's obviously not true," she said.

"Frell you princess," Chiana spat as she forced herself up. "I'm fine." On her own two legs again, she took a step forward and promptly crashed into the wall.

"They told me what you did," Jool warned. "You risked your life to come after us and this might be a consequence of that choice." She shook her head. "You shouldn't have done it Chi."

A look of amazement came over Chiana's face. "Last time I do you a favor," she spat.

Jool sighed and cursed her wording mistake. "I only meant that it was a silly risk," she said. "Look, we're all ok."

Despite an overwhelming desire to wring the redhead's neck, Chiana could not manage the balance to get at her. Struggling with each step, she only made it as far as the operating table. Lying down, she stared straight up at the ceiling.

"It's no wonder you keep getting hurt the way you act," Jool continued. "Always looking for troub..."

"I can't see."

"There are far safer ways to go about things you kn."

"Jool!" Chiana shouted. "I can't see!"

Then Interon was suddenly in a panic. She'd been lecturing her patient and ignoring all the warning signs. Scrambling to reorient herself, she moved up alongside the table.

"You can't see anything?" she asked. "Nothing at all?"

Chiana groaned. "Lights, shadows," she whispered. "And my head....it feels like its gonna frelling explode!"

Jool's eyes began to water. "I'm so sorry Chi," she sobbed. "This is my fault, I saw you in the corridor - well I thought I saw you - then you were gone and I panicked. Maybe you wouldn't have come if I hadn't...." She trailed off. Jool's hands shook slightly as she saw tears begin to run down Chiana's face.

"I'll be ok, I'll be ok," Chiana whispered. She closed her eyes and grabbed on tightly to Jool's trembling hand.



He watched his outstretched hand dance across the cell's light fixture as he did when he was an infant. Of course, John didn't actually remember this. It was just something his mom had always talked about before she died. He didn't think about her too much these days. His dad yes, but that was part of a whole other mess.

'My dad?' he heard himself saying. The conflicting emotions inside of him at that moment would have been enough to blow the Aurora chair to kingdom come.

Then he heard the footsteps.

Aeryn walked silently into the center chamber, being very careful not to disturb the human's thoughts. The look on his face worried her. It had become far too familiar.

"You're thinking about going back with them aren't you?" she asked.

John looked up and their eyes met for a solitary moment. He shrugged and fell further back against the wall. "They want me to," he said.

"Do you?" Aeryn asked.

He took his head in his hands and sighed heavily. "I don't know what the hell I want," he said. "My head hurts."

Aeryn took a step back towards the door. "You know I couldn't."

"Go with me?" John finished. "I wouldn't ask you to Aeryn." Strangely enough, the words did not come with the usual feelings of desperation. He just looked up at her with the same uncertainty that her face gave away.

Aeryn opened her mouth as if she were about to say something then stopped. Giving a final nod, she turned and headed back out the door. A failed attempt? She wasn't quite sure.

He watched her go as a thin smile formed on his lips. John closed his eyes and images flashed through his mind. Jack's face, the holo of Earth that Scorpy had shown him, and then Harvey.

"Quite a predicament you're in John," the clone said.

Crichton looked up at it and shrugged again. He wasn't in the mood to argue.

"It's easy isn't it?" Harvey purred. "To give up your dreams of Earth when it is so far out of reach. What now John? What will you do now that your home is waiting for you at the end of this wormhole?"

"Thanks for the instant recap, Harv," John replied. "It helps."

Harvey's mischievous grin turned quickly into a stern frown. He eyed the human carefully. "You already know the answer John," he whispered. "You see it as clearly as I do."

"The Ancients?" John asked.

The neural clone nodded in agreement. "The Ancients knew the choice you would have to make. Tried to make it for you," he said. "But they didn't know the most important thing."

"I have to do this," John said.

"No one else, John," Harvey replied.

With a sudden feeling of purpose, John lifted himself off the ground and grabbed for the comm he had stuffed in his pocket. Tapping it, he prepared to speak.

"Hey D'Argo!"

The comm came to life in his hand. "Yes, John?" D'Argo answered. "What is it?"

"I need to borrow your ship!" John shouted as he headed for the door.



The door to the maintenance bay swung open and D'Argo stepped inside with his Qualta blade in hand. Marching through it and into the hangar, he spotted his ship and called out to it in ancient Luxan.

Immediately, a change came over the mysterious vessel. Its inner workings began to glow and come to life. The ship knew that its master was approaching.

D'Argo, still enthused by how incredible it was, did not notice the solitary figure already in the hangar.

"And where are you going?"

Aeryn Sun was sitting on an old yellow crate, watching him as he moved purposely towards the vessel. She had a cup in her hand and a distant look on her face.

The Luxan froze in place and turned to look at her. "Crichton asked me to help him. We're taking the ship out," he said.

Aeryn was on her feet in a microt. She rushed D'Argo and slammed him against the wall. Surprised, all he could do was wait for her to state her purpose.

"What is he planning?" she asked. It wasn't really a request.

D'Argo kept silent for a microt but then relented. "The Humans have built a device capable of creating wormholes," he said. There was still disbelief in his voice. "He wants me to help him destroy it."

The look on Aeryn's face changed once again. In that moment she realized what Crichton's choice had been. What he was willing to give up. She was thrown but not enough to sway her from her next move.

"I won't let him do it alone," she stated matter-of-factly.

D'Argo eyed her suspiciously. "He won't," he said. "I'm going."

Aeryn shook her head. "No, it should be me," she replied. "I have to do this with him."

Frowning, D'Argo finally managed to push the ex-peacekeeper off. "You can't Aeryn," he said. "Crichton didn't even want me there. But the ship only responds to my DNA."

Responding quickly, Aeryn reached into her pant pocket and pulled out a pair of leather gloves. Slipping them on, she looked back up at the Luxan.

"Open your mouth."



The atmosphere inside the hangar was one of cautious excitement. Three soldiers and another on a cot stood before their ship and prepared to board.

Havermeyer was at the cockpit, going through the pre-flight checklist when Crichton walked in.

"You sure that thing will fly?" John asked.

The soldier grinned with the pride only a human could muster. "She was built to get us here and back, astronaut," he said. "She'll get the job done."

At the same time, the other two men were carefully guiding Dunbar's cot into the ship's rear cabin. It wasn't a particularly large vessel. But it would do under the circumstances.

"Careful with him!" Havermeyer ordered.

Dunbar shot the sergeant a sly look as he was carried inside. Despite their constant disagreements, he still respected the man. Hell, he was still alive wasn't he?

"So does this mean you're coming back with us then?" Havermeyer asked.

John looked away from the ship, which he suddenly realized looked a lot like a bulky version of his module, and nodded. "Looks like it Sergeant," he said. "Hope you don't mind."

Havermeyer shrugged. "You're a front page headline if I ever saw one," he said. "We should be able to fit you in with us."

"Oh no, I'm not going in that," John said. He pointed back toward D'Argo's ship. "That's my ride."

The Sergeant was surprised and perhaps a bit annoyed by this new piece of information. He wondered how the reception would be if he arrived with an alien ship in his convoy. Still, he knew the eggheads back home would get a thrill out of it.

"Whatever Crichton," he said. "I'll see you on the ground." With those words, he climbed back into the cockpit and slammed the hatch shut.

John gave a quick wave and shouted, "Good luck," over the roar of the engines. Then, turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he jogged over to D'Argo's ship and climbed up the metal ramp. The other passenger caught him by surprise.

"Where's D'Argo?" he asked.

Aeryn, both her gloved hands placed firmly on the controls, gave the human a look of annoyance but did not turn away.

"He's not coming," was her only explanation.

Before John could say anything else, the door behind him slammed shut.



The soldier's wormhole rider soared out of Moya's open hangar doors with the Luxan ship close behind. Moving in almost militaristic fashion, the two vessels made their way past the leviathan and into the turbulent lanes beyond.

Inside the second cockpit, Aeryn did her best to keep track of all the systems. Most were already shut off per D'Argo's instructions. Once things steadied she would only have to worry about navigating.

Weapons were Crichton's problem.

The silence there was soon broken by a communication from Pilot. "Aeryn, Crichton, do you read?" the creature asked.

Aeryn reached forward and flipped the comm button. "Yes, we read you Pilot," she responded.

"Tell D'Argo we haven't broken anything," John added.

The Luxan's voice could then be heard on the other end. Pilot quickly squashed it. "From all of us Crichton, I wish you well on your mission," he said.

John stared out at the wormhole as what he was about to do dawned on him. There was still a part of him deep inside that wasn't sure. Enough so that he couldn't relax even for a microt.

"Thanks Pilot," he said.

Aeryn noticed his state and shut the comm off. Watching him now, with blue light reflecting off his solemn face, she wanted to say something. Yet there were no words for what the human was about to do. Nothing Aeryn could say to make it better.

In front of them, the wormhole rider shot forward with unprecedented speed and disappeared down the vortex. Only a microt or two later, the same force took hold of the Luxan ship. John and Aeryn watched and held on as their world went topsy-turvy.

"Aeryn look," John said with no apparent enthusiasm. He gasped as the wormhole began to stabilize again. A clear image began to form up ahead. They were approaching the end of the road and the other side was visible.

The ex-peacekeeper had seen the planet before. However, nothing could match what she was looking at now. Aeryn watched in equal wonder as Earth's familiar image appeared on the forward portal.

"Earth," John whispered. He couldn't bring himself to say anything else.

As they neared the wormhole's end, Aeryn began to slow the ship's engines. While the soldier's ship raced through the opening and out into open space, D'Argo's ship hung behind.

"Crichton," she said and pointed to a black object in the distance. It was getting closer.

John followed her line of sight and saw what Aeryn was pointing at, an enormous metal structure that looked like the space stations of years past. "That's it," he said.

Aeryn worked on the controls for a microt and managed to bring the sensors back online. Taking a sweep of the area, she turned to Crichton.

"I read no life-signs aboard," she said.

"No, they wouldn't risk putting people on that thing," John said. "It's probably manned from Canaveral, maybe the base in Australia."

She didn't bother trying to make sense of the names. Aeryn trained her eyes on Crichton and prepared to ask the question.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

With deliberate slowness, John nodded his head and reached for the weapons display. Bringing the visor to his face, he looked through and focused in on the giant structure.

"Just like D'Argo told you," Aeryn warned.

John ignored her and concentrated on the image. A sudden flash of red told him the locking mechanism was in place. There was nothing left to do but shoot.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

The Luxan vessel lit up so brightly that every satellite trained on the wormhole caught on to its presence. A wave of brilliant light cascaded off the ship's exterior and thrust itself forward into space. The energy blast enveloped Earth's wormhole machine and it exploded in a flash of all- consuming fire.

John pushed the weapons screen away from his face and stared as chunks of burning debris rocketed across the landscape. The flames grew close and reflected onto his face through the ship's portal. In that moment, the dream John had carried for so long died.

"John?" Aeryn said.

His eyes did not move from the wreckage until the wormhole around them began to waver.

"John!" Aeryn tried again.

Tears rolled down John's face as it dissipated and made his last image of Earth into a memory.