K'Tahli nearly fainted when the small ship came out of starburst. She felt
no real sensation of travel, but what she felt was indescribable. Next
time, she would release the psychic link before they went into the burst.
"Madam, there is another ship nearby." The pilot told her.
"Status?" She asked, aloud, still a little shaken by the starburst.
"There are two ships," the pilot amended "a Peacekeeper vessel and a leviathan. The leviathan is aware we are here but the other ship is gearing for attack on the leviathan."
"Where are Ashan and Denali?"
"Safe aboard another leviathan, not far from our current position. Denali confirms that a PK marauder followed them through starburst. The resulting drain on Denali rendered them in need of aid, but they are unharmed."
K'Tahli sat back, relieved. Now all she had to worry about was Ashan being angry. Wouldn't be the first time she'd made him angry.
Aboard Talyn, Crais assumed a defiant stance in Talyn's neural cluster. The marauder's guns were trained on the gunship, but Crais asked Talyn to hold fire.
"Let us see who dares attack us here, alone." Crais opened a communication channel to the Marauder.
"Bialar Crais." Braca smiled at the view screen. His ploy had worked better than he had even imagined.
"Surrender your vessel, and the female human!" Braca barely held his glee in check as he ordered the former Captain to surrender the things he held most dear..
"Never!" Crais spat back. His eyes flashed with a hint of the old ruthlessness as he gave Talyn the command to fire. As Talyn prepared to open fire, the Marauder burst out a pulse that clipped Talyn. Talyn's shot went wild. Crais was thrown to the floor, stunned by the burst. He slumped unconscious at the far corner of the neural cluster.
On the lower deck, the sudden firefight and loss of connection to Talyn and Crais sent Rainne running toward command. Calling to Talyn and Crais both, she was rapidly panicking by the lack of response. More than that, she was only faintly aware of Talyn, and not of Crais at all. Crais' bond with Talyn had allowed Crais to grow on a path of self-discovery that had been very telling, very satisfying. Helping the young leviathan come to terms with his vast ability to kill and destroy without losing his respect for life had come a long way in healing the damage done by his Peacekeeper existence. What if that was the meaning behind her dream? Rainne's thoughts quickened her pace until she was sprinting on the unstable floor.
K'Tahli and the smaller twin saw the glancing blow and the erratic behavior of the stunned leviathan. Seeking to distract the Marauder, Ranjaa flew directly between the two ships.
Talyn, despite his sudden lack of communication ability, fired again on the Marauder. Braca had let down his guard at that moment, thinking victory was assured. He fired off one last shot before his ship was blasted into an inferno. Microts later, it exploded. Talyn was frightened now, he could hear Moya calling, coming to him. He could not respond, he could not contact the captain. He could feel the panic coming off Rainne in hot waves. He tried to call her into the cluster, but he was unable to make her hear him. A peripheral sensor caught the smaller leviathan. In Talyn's panicked state, he thought the marauder had returned. He was able to fire once more. Unknowingly, Talyn blasted Ranjaa to her death.
On Moya, Ashan was allowed up in command with the crew, despite vehement objections by D'Argo.
"We can't spare anyone to watch him. Moya is accelerating toward Talyn." Aeryn explained.
Pilot further explained "Moya is concerned for Talyn. He had lost contact with the Captain and Rainne. He was being fired on by a Peacekeeper Marauder."
"The one that you suspected trailed your starburst." D'Argo's anger simmered close to the surface. "How do we know it was not planned that way?"
Ashan showed none of his trepidation at the advancing Luxan.
"You must trust my word." Was Ashan's reply.
Pilot opened a view screen and the flashes of the distant battle captured the crew's attention. The explosion of the Marauder brought a cheer that was cut short by the second shot that destroyed Ranjaa. No one was able to respond to the enormity of what had transpired. Even John had no smart remark. Ashan started to take a step toward the view screen, his hand outstretched as if he could prove the image was not real.
Pilot's voice confirmed that the small craft had indeed been killed. Ashan barely heard Pilot calling out to someone named Stark to go to the hangar bay to calm the surviving twin. John rushed forward in time to catch Ashan as he fell.
"Whoa! Who was on that ship?" Crichton asked.
Ashan seemed incapable of response, he had gone somewhere near catatonic. It was pilot who responded.
"I believe that was his wife's vessel, John." Pilot's voice was gentle.
John looked down at the empty eyes of the man he had just caught in a near faint. It was as if he had died as well.
"There are two ships," the pilot amended "a Peacekeeper vessel and a leviathan. The leviathan is aware we are here but the other ship is gearing for attack on the leviathan."
"Where are Ashan and Denali?"
"Safe aboard another leviathan, not far from our current position. Denali confirms that a PK marauder followed them through starburst. The resulting drain on Denali rendered them in need of aid, but they are unharmed."
K'Tahli sat back, relieved. Now all she had to worry about was Ashan being angry. Wouldn't be the first time she'd made him angry.
Aboard Talyn, Crais assumed a defiant stance in Talyn's neural cluster. The marauder's guns were trained on the gunship, but Crais asked Talyn to hold fire.
"Let us see who dares attack us here, alone." Crais opened a communication channel to the Marauder.
"Bialar Crais." Braca smiled at the view screen. His ploy had worked better than he had even imagined.
"Surrender your vessel, and the female human!" Braca barely held his glee in check as he ordered the former Captain to surrender the things he held most dear..
"Never!" Crais spat back. His eyes flashed with a hint of the old ruthlessness as he gave Talyn the command to fire. As Talyn prepared to open fire, the Marauder burst out a pulse that clipped Talyn. Talyn's shot went wild. Crais was thrown to the floor, stunned by the burst. He slumped unconscious at the far corner of the neural cluster.
On the lower deck, the sudden firefight and loss of connection to Talyn and Crais sent Rainne running toward command. Calling to Talyn and Crais both, she was rapidly panicking by the lack of response. More than that, she was only faintly aware of Talyn, and not of Crais at all. Crais' bond with Talyn had allowed Crais to grow on a path of self-discovery that had been very telling, very satisfying. Helping the young leviathan come to terms with his vast ability to kill and destroy without losing his respect for life had come a long way in healing the damage done by his Peacekeeper existence. What if that was the meaning behind her dream? Rainne's thoughts quickened her pace until she was sprinting on the unstable floor.
K'Tahli and the smaller twin saw the glancing blow and the erratic behavior of the stunned leviathan. Seeking to distract the Marauder, Ranjaa flew directly between the two ships.
Talyn, despite his sudden lack of communication ability, fired again on the Marauder. Braca had let down his guard at that moment, thinking victory was assured. He fired off one last shot before his ship was blasted into an inferno. Microts later, it exploded. Talyn was frightened now, he could hear Moya calling, coming to him. He could not respond, he could not contact the captain. He could feel the panic coming off Rainne in hot waves. He tried to call her into the cluster, but he was unable to make her hear him. A peripheral sensor caught the smaller leviathan. In Talyn's panicked state, he thought the marauder had returned. He was able to fire once more. Unknowingly, Talyn blasted Ranjaa to her death.
On Moya, Ashan was allowed up in command with the crew, despite vehement objections by D'Argo.
"We can't spare anyone to watch him. Moya is accelerating toward Talyn." Aeryn explained.
Pilot further explained "Moya is concerned for Talyn. He had lost contact with the Captain and Rainne. He was being fired on by a Peacekeeper Marauder."
"The one that you suspected trailed your starburst." D'Argo's anger simmered close to the surface. "How do we know it was not planned that way?"
Ashan showed none of his trepidation at the advancing Luxan.
"You must trust my word." Was Ashan's reply.
Pilot opened a view screen and the flashes of the distant battle captured the crew's attention. The explosion of the Marauder brought a cheer that was cut short by the second shot that destroyed Ranjaa. No one was able to respond to the enormity of what had transpired. Even John had no smart remark. Ashan started to take a step toward the view screen, his hand outstretched as if he could prove the image was not real.
Pilot's voice confirmed that the small craft had indeed been killed. Ashan barely heard Pilot calling out to someone named Stark to go to the hangar bay to calm the surviving twin. John rushed forward in time to catch Ashan as he fell.
"Whoa! Who was on that ship?" Crichton asked.
Ashan seemed incapable of response, he had gone somewhere near catatonic. It was pilot who responded.
"I believe that was his wife's vessel, John." Pilot's voice was gentle.
John looked down at the empty eyes of the man he had just caught in a near faint. It was as if he had died as well.