"Apparitions"
Time: Twenty-five cycles after Dog With Two Bones
Rated: PG
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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Part Nineteen: Unanswered Questions (Vanessa)
It took about a day, but my head finally settled down. All the facts, figures and calculations that were bouncing around and distracting me finally filed themselves away in my subconscious.
After thinking about it, I decided this was a good development. Even if I don't have a handle on the knowledge yet, I'm still in a better position to help Dad when we face-off against the Peacekeepers.
Now all I need are answers.
---------------------------------------
When Moya arrived at Brellan, we decided that only a small team would go down. The smaller the team, the faster they'd be able to get the partanium and get out. So Dad, Mattis and Tashina went down, hopefully with enough currency in the transport pod.
While we waited for them to come back, Mom, Chiana and Rea questioned Furlow, trying to get a handle on what we'd be facing inside the Gammak Base. Lhatan and Stark were alternating watching and helping Xhalax as she continued to convert the phase stabilizer. For the most part, I stayed out of their way. I rationalized it as wanting to be ready to take out the Prowler in case Dad and the others had problems. Actually, I had things to consider and didn't want to be distracted.
Xhalax had overheard me when I talked to Moya and got her to make her promise. Could she have implanted the knowledge so I'd be able to carry out my part of it? Before this, I would have had to con Dad into telling me how to use the displacement engine. Now, I'll be able to figure it out on my own.
Had she planned on doing this all along, or was it a spur of the moment decision, made after she heard me talking to Moya?
Xhalax had said that someone else must know. Did the Ancients want someone else besides Dad to know about wormholes, or was Xhalax acting on her own?
There were too many frellin' questions, not enough frellin' answers and I was beginning to lose my patience.
I hat not having complete intelligence. There were two games being played and I only knew the rules for one. It was time to change that.
---------------------------------------
Stark was watching Xhalax work, his uncovered eye following her every move. "How's it going," I asked as I walked up.
"Fine," Xhalax answered. "I found a couple of damaged components that need to be replaced." She gestured to one side at a small collection of parts. "It shouldn't take much longer."
I picked up one of the components and examined it closely. I made a few adjustments to it, blew some dust from it and handed it back to Xhalax. "This one's not damaged," I said as I handed it back to Xhalax.
She took the component and examined it again. "You're right. What did you do?"
"It just needed an adjustment to the wave guide." I shrugged. "Just a quick fix."
"But you knew how to do it," Stark said, surprised.
Xhalax nodded. "You're accessing the information faster than I expected. Would you like to work on the conversion?"
"No, but I do want some answers. Even though Jack was deceiving us, he kept saying no one should have knowledge of wormhole technology. That's all you've been saying since you showed up. Now, all of a sudden, you stick the wormhole knowledge in my mind. What kind of game are you playing?"
Xhalax put down her tools, lowered her head and seemed to think. "Perhaps it was a miscalculation, one that I'll have to pay for later. I thought it would be advantageous for two people to have the knowledge."
"Did you ever think to ask?"
"Would you have agreed?"
"Agreed? To literally putting a sign around my neck saying, 'Hey, Peacekeepers! I've got what you want!' Oh, yeah. That'd be great."
Xhalax stared at me then turned to Stark. "Could you excuse us, please?"
Stark looked at me, his eye wide, an uncertain look on his face. I nodded once and said, "It's okay. I'll be all right." He hesitated for another microt then nodded and walked away.
"Now, an explanation."
"In your little talk with Moya, you made her promise to starburst away should you have to use a wormhole weapon."
"I have to protect Moya and everyone else, and I'll do anything I have to in order to do that."
"I see. Admirable. Tell me, before I implanted the knowledge, how did you plan to use technology you knew nothing about?"
"Well." I looked down at the floor and shifted from foot to foot. "It wasn't so much a plan as it was a contingency in case things go pear shaped."
"I see. So you were planning on using a weapon you know nothing about. This is what my people are afraid of. Even people who want to use wormhole technology for the best of reasons can wreck havoc on the planes of reality."
I closed my eyes as theories began to run through my mind. "But if I do bring about an unrealized reality, I would still have a chance to correct it, as long as I travel back to before the first change."
"But what if that reality was ever so slightly different from this one? What if you can't identify the change until it's too late? If you wait too long, the new reality would become permanent."
"Then I'll have to make sure I don't."
My comm chirped. "Excuse me, Vanessa," Pilot said, "but the transport pod has taken off."
"Good, Pilot. Have Moya."
"There may be a problem. There's been no contact with the pod. It's almost as if."
"Almost as if they can't call because they've got guns to their heads."
Xhalax raised a hand. "Wait. This could be a simple communications failure."
"You're right. It could be a comm failure. Or it could be there's a squad of bounty hunters responding to a Peacekeeper wanted beacon. Given the way things happen here on Moya, it's probably the second."
I looked around the maintenance bay then stared at the oversized doors that lead to the hanger. "How long until they get here, Pilot?"
"They're just clearing the atmosphere. It'll take almost twenty microts for them to catch up with us."
"Okay. Have Moya be ready to starburst to an empty sector. I don't care where. Just someplace where we can care of this problem."
"If there is a problem," Xhalax added.
"If there is a problem. Mom, did you get all that?"
"Yes, Vanessa. We're on our way now."
Stark ran back into the bay, looking more uncertain than when he left. "I pray the goddess is still watching over us."
"If she's watching over us, why don't things go our way once in a while?"
He considered quickly. "We found John and Aeryn alive and well after ten cycles."
"All right, that was one. Now get ready." Stark nodded and ran from the bay. I looked at the doors again. "Pilot, when the pod lands, keep the doors closed until we're sure it's safe."
"Very well, Vanessa. I've found an empty sector. Moya will starburst as soon as the transport pod is in the hanger."
"Good, Pilot. Don't wait for me to say anything. Just get Moya going." I ran my hands over my face and tried not to think things were well and truly frelled.
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Twenty microts later, Mom, Chiana, Stark, Lhatan, Rea and Xhalax were gathered in front of the door. Except for Lhatan and Xhalax, we all had weapons drawn. Moya had gone to starburst as soon as the pod cleared the hanger doors.
"The pod has landed," Pilot said.
"Anything we should be worried about just yet?"
"There doesn't appear to be any activity in the hanger, Vanessa. However, the area below the transport pod is not registering on the internal sensors."
"What do you mean, not registering," Mom asked.
"There appears to be something interfering with Moya's sensors. I'm not getting any readings from beneath the pod. I'm sending in DRDs to investigate."
Chiana thought quickly. "Y'know, there's enough room beneath a transport pod to hide several heavily armed soldiers."
Mom looked at me and frowned. "Anything from the DRDs, Pilot?"
"They're approaching the transport pod now. Commander Crichton, Mattis and Tashina are lying on the deck below the pod. They.they aren't moving."
"Open the doors!" I tried not to panic as I brought up my pistol. Mom's face became hard and her eyes narrowed. Lhatan was muttering under his breath.
Mom and I started forward as the doors opened. We checked the area around the pod quickly, expecting something.anything.to come at us from the shadows. Not finding anything didn't make me feel better.
"Lhatan."
He ran forward and began examining Dad, Mattis and Tashina. After a couple of microts, he relaxed and sighed in relief. "They're all right," he said. "Heavily sedated, but otherwise fine." He reached into a pocket and took out his portable medkit. "I'll have them up in a few microts."
"Good." I felt better, but didn't relax. I watched Mom and Chiana climb the ramp into the pod. "Anything?"
"Nothing," Mom called down. "The pod's empty."
"Then what the frell is going on? They didn't maintain comm silence then sedate themselves. Rea, do you.what the frell?"
By the rear of the pod, I saw.something, some kind of distortion or trick of the light. It looked like ripples in a puddle of water, only vertical and shaped like a person. I stared at it for another microt then turned.
"Rea? Come here." As she approached, I whispered, "Look over there by the rear of the pod. Do you see anything strange?"
She looked, blinked and frowned. "There's something there," she said. "I take it that's not normal for a Leviathan?"
"Moya's a lot of things, but she's not haunted. Maybe it's." I spun, brought up my pistol and started firing at the area the distortion had been in.
For a moment, nothing happened, except for Mom and Chiana running out of the transport pod. They were all staring at me like I'd gone completely fahrbot."
"Vanessa," Mom yelled. "What the frell are you doing?"
Someone screamed and fell to the deck.
We all looked toward the rear of the pod. On the deck was what looked like a cloud of static. When it cleared, an armored figure was laying on the deck, an ugly wound in his chest.
"Some kind of armored suit," Mom said, her pistol never leaving the body.
"But how did he get invisible," Chiana asked as she came up behind her.
"Another mystery for Lhatan," I said. "Anything the Peacekeepers might have, Rea?"
"Nothing I recognize." She knelt next to the body and began to examine the armor.
"Great. Someone else who loves a mystery. Anything in the pod, Mom?"
"Just the partanium. Whoever did this must have been waiting for them to come.hey!"
We all turned at the sound of running feet. The fact that we couldn't see who was running drove home the point that we hadn't paid enough attention to the rest of the hanger.
"There's more of them," Stark called out.
"You still have a keen grasp of the obvious, Stark," Mom grumbled.
"Pilot, seal all the compartment doors," I yelled. "Post DRDs at all the access ports! Damn, this is just one frell up after another."
"Who expected invisible invaders," Chiana said. "Sometimes, I think the universe keeps coming up with new and better ways of frelling with us."
"Either that, or our luck is getting worse. Pilot, where are they?"
"I'm not sure, Vanessa. They're not showing up on the internal sensors. I'm working now to set up for motion scan. The DRDs are also keeping watch for hostile activity."
Mom shook her head. "That's a start. How long until they're up, Lhatan?"
"A few microts."
"You and Rea start working on that armor. Find out everything you can about it." I looked at the still forms of Dad, Mattis and Tashina and sighed. "Well, let's get to it."
TO BE CONTINUED
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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Part Nineteen: Unanswered Questions (Vanessa)
It took about a day, but my head finally settled down. All the facts, figures and calculations that were bouncing around and distracting me finally filed themselves away in my subconscious.
After thinking about it, I decided this was a good development. Even if I don't have a handle on the knowledge yet, I'm still in a better position to help Dad when we face-off against the Peacekeepers.
Now all I need are answers.
---------------------------------------
When Moya arrived at Brellan, we decided that only a small team would go down. The smaller the team, the faster they'd be able to get the partanium and get out. So Dad, Mattis and Tashina went down, hopefully with enough currency in the transport pod.
While we waited for them to come back, Mom, Chiana and Rea questioned Furlow, trying to get a handle on what we'd be facing inside the Gammak Base. Lhatan and Stark were alternating watching and helping Xhalax as she continued to convert the phase stabilizer. For the most part, I stayed out of their way. I rationalized it as wanting to be ready to take out the Prowler in case Dad and the others had problems. Actually, I had things to consider and didn't want to be distracted.
Xhalax had overheard me when I talked to Moya and got her to make her promise. Could she have implanted the knowledge so I'd be able to carry out my part of it? Before this, I would have had to con Dad into telling me how to use the displacement engine. Now, I'll be able to figure it out on my own.
Had she planned on doing this all along, or was it a spur of the moment decision, made after she heard me talking to Moya?
Xhalax had said that someone else must know. Did the Ancients want someone else besides Dad to know about wormholes, or was Xhalax acting on her own?
There were too many frellin' questions, not enough frellin' answers and I was beginning to lose my patience.
I hat not having complete intelligence. There were two games being played and I only knew the rules for one. It was time to change that.
---------------------------------------
Stark was watching Xhalax work, his uncovered eye following her every move. "How's it going," I asked as I walked up.
"Fine," Xhalax answered. "I found a couple of damaged components that need to be replaced." She gestured to one side at a small collection of parts. "It shouldn't take much longer."
I picked up one of the components and examined it closely. I made a few adjustments to it, blew some dust from it and handed it back to Xhalax. "This one's not damaged," I said as I handed it back to Xhalax.
She took the component and examined it again. "You're right. What did you do?"
"It just needed an adjustment to the wave guide." I shrugged. "Just a quick fix."
"But you knew how to do it," Stark said, surprised.
Xhalax nodded. "You're accessing the information faster than I expected. Would you like to work on the conversion?"
"No, but I do want some answers. Even though Jack was deceiving us, he kept saying no one should have knowledge of wormhole technology. That's all you've been saying since you showed up. Now, all of a sudden, you stick the wormhole knowledge in my mind. What kind of game are you playing?"
Xhalax put down her tools, lowered her head and seemed to think. "Perhaps it was a miscalculation, one that I'll have to pay for later. I thought it would be advantageous for two people to have the knowledge."
"Did you ever think to ask?"
"Would you have agreed?"
"Agreed? To literally putting a sign around my neck saying, 'Hey, Peacekeepers! I've got what you want!' Oh, yeah. That'd be great."
Xhalax stared at me then turned to Stark. "Could you excuse us, please?"
Stark looked at me, his eye wide, an uncertain look on his face. I nodded once and said, "It's okay. I'll be all right." He hesitated for another microt then nodded and walked away.
"Now, an explanation."
"In your little talk with Moya, you made her promise to starburst away should you have to use a wormhole weapon."
"I have to protect Moya and everyone else, and I'll do anything I have to in order to do that."
"I see. Admirable. Tell me, before I implanted the knowledge, how did you plan to use technology you knew nothing about?"
"Well." I looked down at the floor and shifted from foot to foot. "It wasn't so much a plan as it was a contingency in case things go pear shaped."
"I see. So you were planning on using a weapon you know nothing about. This is what my people are afraid of. Even people who want to use wormhole technology for the best of reasons can wreck havoc on the planes of reality."
I closed my eyes as theories began to run through my mind. "But if I do bring about an unrealized reality, I would still have a chance to correct it, as long as I travel back to before the first change."
"But what if that reality was ever so slightly different from this one? What if you can't identify the change until it's too late? If you wait too long, the new reality would become permanent."
"Then I'll have to make sure I don't."
My comm chirped. "Excuse me, Vanessa," Pilot said, "but the transport pod has taken off."
"Good, Pilot. Have Moya."
"There may be a problem. There's been no contact with the pod. It's almost as if."
"Almost as if they can't call because they've got guns to their heads."
Xhalax raised a hand. "Wait. This could be a simple communications failure."
"You're right. It could be a comm failure. Or it could be there's a squad of bounty hunters responding to a Peacekeeper wanted beacon. Given the way things happen here on Moya, it's probably the second."
I looked around the maintenance bay then stared at the oversized doors that lead to the hanger. "How long until they get here, Pilot?"
"They're just clearing the atmosphere. It'll take almost twenty microts for them to catch up with us."
"Okay. Have Moya be ready to starburst to an empty sector. I don't care where. Just someplace where we can care of this problem."
"If there is a problem," Xhalax added.
"If there is a problem. Mom, did you get all that?"
"Yes, Vanessa. We're on our way now."
Stark ran back into the bay, looking more uncertain than when he left. "I pray the goddess is still watching over us."
"If she's watching over us, why don't things go our way once in a while?"
He considered quickly. "We found John and Aeryn alive and well after ten cycles."
"All right, that was one. Now get ready." Stark nodded and ran from the bay. I looked at the doors again. "Pilot, when the pod lands, keep the doors closed until we're sure it's safe."
"Very well, Vanessa. I've found an empty sector. Moya will starburst as soon as the transport pod is in the hanger."
"Good, Pilot. Don't wait for me to say anything. Just get Moya going." I ran my hands over my face and tried not to think things were well and truly frelled.
---------------------------------------
Twenty microts later, Mom, Chiana, Stark, Lhatan, Rea and Xhalax were gathered in front of the door. Except for Lhatan and Xhalax, we all had weapons drawn. Moya had gone to starburst as soon as the pod cleared the hanger doors.
"The pod has landed," Pilot said.
"Anything we should be worried about just yet?"
"There doesn't appear to be any activity in the hanger, Vanessa. However, the area below the transport pod is not registering on the internal sensors."
"What do you mean, not registering," Mom asked.
"There appears to be something interfering with Moya's sensors. I'm not getting any readings from beneath the pod. I'm sending in DRDs to investigate."
Chiana thought quickly. "Y'know, there's enough room beneath a transport pod to hide several heavily armed soldiers."
Mom looked at me and frowned. "Anything from the DRDs, Pilot?"
"They're approaching the transport pod now. Commander Crichton, Mattis and Tashina are lying on the deck below the pod. They.they aren't moving."
"Open the doors!" I tried not to panic as I brought up my pistol. Mom's face became hard and her eyes narrowed. Lhatan was muttering under his breath.
Mom and I started forward as the doors opened. We checked the area around the pod quickly, expecting something.anything.to come at us from the shadows. Not finding anything didn't make me feel better.
"Lhatan."
He ran forward and began examining Dad, Mattis and Tashina. After a couple of microts, he relaxed and sighed in relief. "They're all right," he said. "Heavily sedated, but otherwise fine." He reached into a pocket and took out his portable medkit. "I'll have them up in a few microts."
"Good." I felt better, but didn't relax. I watched Mom and Chiana climb the ramp into the pod. "Anything?"
"Nothing," Mom called down. "The pod's empty."
"Then what the frell is going on? They didn't maintain comm silence then sedate themselves. Rea, do you.what the frell?"
By the rear of the pod, I saw.something, some kind of distortion or trick of the light. It looked like ripples in a puddle of water, only vertical and shaped like a person. I stared at it for another microt then turned.
"Rea? Come here." As she approached, I whispered, "Look over there by the rear of the pod. Do you see anything strange?"
She looked, blinked and frowned. "There's something there," she said. "I take it that's not normal for a Leviathan?"
"Moya's a lot of things, but she's not haunted. Maybe it's." I spun, brought up my pistol and started firing at the area the distortion had been in.
For a moment, nothing happened, except for Mom and Chiana running out of the transport pod. They were all staring at me like I'd gone completely fahrbot."
"Vanessa," Mom yelled. "What the frell are you doing?"
Someone screamed and fell to the deck.
We all looked toward the rear of the pod. On the deck was what looked like a cloud of static. When it cleared, an armored figure was laying on the deck, an ugly wound in his chest.
"Some kind of armored suit," Mom said, her pistol never leaving the body.
"But how did he get invisible," Chiana asked as she came up behind her.
"Another mystery for Lhatan," I said. "Anything the Peacekeepers might have, Rea?"
"Nothing I recognize." She knelt next to the body and began to examine the armor.
"Great. Someone else who loves a mystery. Anything in the pod, Mom?"
"Just the partanium. Whoever did this must have been waiting for them to come.hey!"
We all turned at the sound of running feet. The fact that we couldn't see who was running drove home the point that we hadn't paid enough attention to the rest of the hanger.
"There's more of them," Stark called out.
"You still have a keen grasp of the obvious, Stark," Mom grumbled.
"Pilot, seal all the compartment doors," I yelled. "Post DRDs at all the access ports! Damn, this is just one frell up after another."
"Who expected invisible invaders," Chiana said. "Sometimes, I think the universe keeps coming up with new and better ways of frelling with us."
"Either that, or our luck is getting worse. Pilot, where are they?"
"I'm not sure, Vanessa. They're not showing up on the internal sensors. I'm working now to set up for motion scan. The DRDs are also keeping watch for hostile activity."
Mom shook her head. "That's a start. How long until they're up, Lhatan?"
"A few microts."
"You and Rea start working on that armor. Find out everything you can about it." I looked at the still forms of Dad, Mattis and Tashina and sighed. "Well, let's get to it."
TO BE CONTINUED
