"Apparitions" Time: Twenty-five cycles after Dog With Two Bones

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 Twenty-Four: Headlong Dive

Abetan stepped into the command center and looked around quickly. Failing to see his aide brought a frown to his face and again brought up his suspicions about Lieutenant Katsur.

I knew you were ambitious, Misata, he thought, but I never thought you'd turn against me. It shouldn't surprise me; this is what I get for having a half-breed as an aide.

Abetan pushed the thought from his mind and turned to the nearest officer. "Report."

"Sensors are picking up a ship approaching, sir," the officer said. He tapped a request into his terminal and watched information fill his screen. "It's reading like a Leviathan, but we're also reading weaponry."

Abetan nodded slowly. "Talyn. What's the projected course?"

"The gunship's heading is in-system, sir, and moving fast. If there's no change, it'll achieve orbit in fifteen microts."

"I doubt Crais will simply assume orbit. Tell the Prowlers to open fire as soon as Talyn is in range."

As his orders were relayed, Abetan thought, Six Prowlers against one Leviathan. A one-sided fight, but which side has the advantage?

"Sir," the officer called out. "The other Leviathan is breaking orbit."

"Worry about Talyn first. Where's the Vigilante?"

"Mid-system, sir. They won't get here before Talyn arrives."

Abetan considered. "Open a channel to Talyn." He waited a microt. "This is Captain Abetan, commanding officer of the Bia'thera Gammak base. State your intentions." The speakers remained silent. "Crais, I don't care about Talyn's reputation. If you attack this base or any member of its staff, you will be destroyed." Again, there was no response.

"All right. If that's how you wish to play this. Put the base on alert. Any word from Chief Scientist Sikozu or Lieutenant Katsur?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Find them both." Abetan watched the staff of the command center shift to alert mode and prepared himself for action.

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Vanessa looked quickly around the corner and spotted the guard outside the prisoner's cell. She glanced at Katsur and nodded. "I'm a little surprised at you, Lieutenant. You haven't tried to get away from me."

"And I'm surprised you haven't killed me yet. You should know that Peacekeepers don't negotiate for hostages."

"I know. As far as I'm concerned, Misata old girl, you're an expendable resource. I still have need of you. Actually, I need your voice." Vanessa frowned at the innocent look that crossed Katsur's face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Vanessa."

"Of course you don't. And I'm wrong in thinking that all doors to restricted areas have been reset for voice identification?" Katsur remained silent. "Okay. Fine."

Vanessa peeked around the corner again. She was trying to decide how to best handle the guard when the alert sounded. "And here comes Talyn. All right, Lieutenant. Here's the deal. You're going to help me get my friends and family out of there."

"Why would I help you do that?"

"Who's carrying the pulse pistol?"

"I see your point. Shall I assume that you won't hesitate to shoot me if I don't cooperate?" Vanessa nodded once. "As long as I know where I stand. Shall we?"

Vanessa concealed the pistol under her duster and nodded. "Slow and easy, Lieutenant. Now let's go."

Katsur took a deep breath and started walking, Vanessa close behind.

The guard snapped to attention when he saw Katsur. "Lieutenant!"

"I'm bringing this one back to the others. Captain Abetan wants them kept together. Open the door."

"Yes, Lieutenant." The guard turned to the door and punched in a code. As the door opened, the guard turned back and found himself staring down the barrel of Vanessa's pistol. "What the frell!"

"Now, don't do anything too stupid," Vanessa said, her face grim. "In the cell. Now!"

The guard glanced at Katsur and began to back into the cell.

Once inside, Vanessa looked at the others. "We're on."

As she took the guard's pulse rifle and pistol, Aeryn said, "Crais is on the way?"

"He should engage the Prowlers guarding Moya any microt now. So we don't have time to spare." Vanessa checked her pistol and began to pace. "Rea, you can get us to the main labs, right?"

"Yes. You're going to give the staff a chance to escape, aren't you?"

"If Talyn has to attack the base, we'll try and get as many out as possible, but we have to get to the labs first." Vanessa patted her once on the arm. "Don't worry, Rea. I'll do everything I can to save as many as possible."

"Sympathy for your adversary, Vanessa?" Katsur shook her head slowly. "Not good tactics. Your parents would have saved themselves a lot of pain and trouble if they had killed Scorpius when they had the chance."

"Things were different back then," John said. "Things were."

"Complicated?" Vanessa smiled weakly. "That's life on Moya."

John looked around then waved Vanessa over. When she was close, he said, "Are you okay?"

"I'll be all right. Everything will be fine.Dad."

John looked relieved and smiled. "Good."

Tashina checked the corridor. "May I respectfully suggest that we not linger here too much longer? The base commander will most likely be sending more guards to make sure we don't escape."

"Right." Vanessa tapped her comm. "Crais?"

"The last Prowler has been eliminated, Vanessa. However, several of them did open fire on Moya before Talyn could."

"Pilot!"

"We're all right for the most part, Vanessa. However, there is damage to Moya's drive. It will be some time before she'll be able to starburst again."

Vanessa bit her lip and cursed. "All right. Stark, Lhatan, take our friend and start working on the repairs."

"What about our other friend, Vanessa?"

"She can rot in her cell. Do what you can. We'll get through this as fast as we can. All right, everyone. Let's move like we've got a purpose. Tashina, you take point, then Mattis and Rea. I'll keep an eye on our guest."

Tashina glanced at the door then turned back to Vanessa. "You'd trust me with this?"

"I trust you to do what you've done for the last three cycles." Vanessa touched her arm and smiled. "Everything will be all right."

Tashina started to speak, but just nodded. She looked relieved and started out. "Stay close if you can, Mattis."

"Don't get too far ahead, Tashina," Mattis said as he led Rea out of the cell. "Rea knows where we're going, not me."

John waved a hand at the door. "Once more unto the breech."

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"I am surrounded by the most incompetent techs in the sector!"

Malent looked around at the faces of the techs assembled around him and didn't try to contain his anger. "We have the most advanced Gammak base in the sector conducting research into wormhole technology, yet we can't match the progress made by one man working on a Leviathan twenty-five cycles ago! That is completely unacceptable and it is a situation that will not continue!"

From where he stood across the lab from where Malent ranted, Adjhirago watched and shook his head. "Your anger is unwarranted, Malent. The research started with the few scraps of knowledge that had been recovered before the destruction of Scorpius's command carrier. Crichton had the advantage of having the knowledge of wormholes implanted in his mind by the Ancients. Perhaps he could be."

Malent spun. "You're in no position to comment or criticize, Adjhirago! You were brought here by the Ancient to help us with the work, yet you've given us almost no help at all! One of these useless frelniks is more helpful than you've been."

Adjhirago inhaled deeply and tried to remain calm. "Perhaps it was an error to come here. I allowed myself to be lured by grand visions. I should have stayed with my people."

"Too late to have second thoughts. You're here, you've given your loyalty to the Peacekeepers. Now you will complete the work you've started." An evil grin crossed Malent's face. "Perhaps you'd like a turn in the Aurora Chair."

"Threats of torture will not affect me, Malent."

The lab's main door opened. Malent turned and saw Lieutenant Katsur standing in the doorway. "Lieutenant. Good. Perhaps you can find a way to motivate these." His eyes went wide when he saw an armed woman push the Lieutenant aside. "What the frell! What is the meaning of this? Who are you?"

"My name is Vanessa Sun," the woman said. "The project is over. You can't have the really big guns yet." She waved her pulse pistol at Katsur. "Get over there, Misata."

Vanessa kept her pistol trained on the assembled techs and researchers as John, Aeryn and the others filed into the lab. "Tashina, guard the door. Now, let's see what we can do."

John watched as Chiana took up position next to Tashina. "You okay, Pip?"

Chiana nodded slowly. "Yeah. My shoulder hurts, that's all."

There were gasps from the assembled techs as Mattis, Rea and John went to the lab's main consoles. "Rea? They told us you were killed on Treis'tall," one of the techs said, disbelief in his voice.

"I left on my own, Bisha. This project is dangerous and wrong. They want to stop it and I want to help them."

"You abandoned the Peacekeepers to work with terrorists?"

Mattis shook his head and turned to the techs. "You haven't changed, Bisha. Try having an open mind for a few microts."

The tech looked shocked. "Mattis Bohr? You were lost three cycles ago."

"It's a long story, one which I'll gladly tell you later. Right now, we have to stop the research. Wormholes are far too dangerous for anyone to control."

Malent laughed. "What do you know about wormholes?"

"I saw a wormhole weapon destroy a Scarran dreadnought," Aeryn said as she took position next to Vanessa. "One end was connected to a star, the other was aimed like a cannon. It was impressive."

John shook his head. "What part of this aren't you grabbing? Traveling through wormholes ain't like dusting crops, boy. Make a wrong turn, go to the wrong destination and you could rewrite reality. Why do you have so much trouble?" He turned to Adjhirago. "Your people can access wormholes. You explain it to him."

"Travel through wormholes requires concentration and focus, yes." Adjhirago looked uncertain. "What are you planning to do, Crichton?"

"If we can fry the computer system and erase the data, maybe High Command will have second thoughts about continuing." John tapped in a few instructions and watched the response. "Anything?"

"Nothing." Rea watched as information filled two screens. "There's a command lock-out. I can't get through it."

"Let me try." Mattis reached into a pocket and took out a small decoder. He plugged two leads into the console and began to tap in instructions. "Maybe we can get lucky."

Malent looked concerned. "Crichton, think about what you're doing. The fear of wormhole technology is the only thing keeping the Scarrans at bay!"

"You should review your history. The Scarrans have known about wormholes for twenty-four cycles." John's eyes lowered and for a moment, he looked sad. "The Scarrans are brutal, but they ain't stupid."

"So you'd give them a weapon we don't have?"

"No," Vanessa said. "The Scarran's wormhole research is at the same point Peacekeeper research will soon be. In ruins and abandoned."

Aeryn leaned close to her. "And you know this how?"

Vanessa shrugged, tapped her forehead and pointed upward. "Our friend up on Moya. From what she put in my head, her people already stopped the Scarrans. It wasn't easy, but they did it."

"Okay, fine. You'll be on even footing again." John turned back to the console. "Anything?"

"Nothing." Mattis slammed his hands against the console. "Frell me dead! They've improved their security. I can't get in."

John looked toward Malent, Adjhirago and Katsur. "You have one chance to avoid unnecessary death and destruction. Shut down this lock-out."

Adjhirago looked uncertain. "I do not have the proper codes, Crichton."

"Only Captain Abetan and Chief Scientist Sikozu have that information," Malent said. "You've lost, Crichton."

"There are always possibilities. I've killed enough people. I don't need any more deaths on my conscience." John thought quickly. "How shielded are the computer systems? Could a high energy discharge crash the system and erase the files?"

Bisha considered and spoke with the other techs. "Most of the systems are shielded more against an external attack than an internal one. You just want to blank the computer files and overload the power grid? We can rig the reactor to generate a high-energy pulse to do it. What's the alternative?"

"Ever hear of a Leviathan gunship named Talyn? If we don't succeed here, Talyn will do his best to level this base."

"We can do it. It's not that hard. It won't take long at all."

John stared at the tech then waved Vanessa and Aeryn over. "What do you think?"

"If we can do this without unnecessary death, I'm all for it," Vanessa said. "This would allow Talyn to remain in orbit to cover our retreat and protect Moya while her damage is repaired."

"How well do you know this guy, Rea? Is he on the up and up?"

Rea frowned. "What?"

"Can he be trusted?"

"Yes, he can. They all can. As a group, we were uncertain about the project."

"Mattis?"

"It's been three cycles since I last saw any of them. I remember Bisha as being something of a cynic, but he can be trusted."

"Okay. Let get it done."

Malent watched the techs begin to work then looked at Katsur. "You'll never make it out of here, Crichton. You'll be hunted down and."

"Will you please shut the hell up?" John turned to the consoles and watched Bisha and two other techs work.

Vanessa tapped her comm. "Crais."

"Yes, Vanessa."

"We're trying to crash the computer system. If we're lucky.hey!"

Malent's hand slipped under the jacket he wore. He produced a small pistol and fired it at Adjhirago. "I always hated working with you." He raised the pistol and began to fire at the techs. Vanessa, Aeryn and Tashina returned fire. Malent went down under the barrage of pulse blasts.

Vanessa looked around and saw Katsur lying on the floor, apparently unharmed. "You're lucky, Lieutenant."

"My survival instincts are well-honed," Katsur said as she stood.

"She has Scorpius's knack for survival."

"Crais, you still there?"

"Yes. What happened?"

"One of the researchers did something really stupid. We're trying to disrupt the computer system. Hopefully that will be erase the research information and keep the Peacekeepers from using wormholes as weapons. Keep watch for our transport pods."

"Understood."

Bisha tapped in a few instructions and nodded. "It's ready. After it's triggered, the reactor will take thirty microts to build up the energy then release the pulse. The pulse will fry the base's electronics and should erase all the computer files. After that, the reactor will go into standby mode and the power grid will shut down. Do you want to trigger it now or wait?"

"Trigger it now," Aeryn said. "The confusion caused by the pulse and the grid collapse will cover our escape."

"Mom's right. Do it." Vanessa watched Bisha tap in commands.

"It's done. No turning back now."

"Then let's start out of here. Are you all going to be all right? If any of you want to come with us."

Bisha shook his head once. "No, we'll stay here. We'll be all right. After all, we're just techs. We don't matter at all. Right, Lieutenant Katsur?"

Katsur glanced at him, her face grim. "I have more important things to worry about than techs."

"All right, then. Double time." Aeryn checked the corridor then started out. The others filed out behind her.

Mattis stopped at the door. "Any time now, Vanessa."

"Half a microt." Vanessa turned back to Katsur. "I guess this is goodbye, Lieutenant."

"You may as well kill me now, Vanessa," Katsur said, her voice defiant. "I will never stop searching for you."

Vanessa looked at her pulse pistol. "I'd probably would, Lieutenant, but I'm out of chakkan oil. Maybe next time. Let's go, Mattis."

When the door slid shut, Vanessa slammed the empty pulse pistol against door's control panel. As it flared then went dark, they started running. "Let's get out of here."

TO BE CONTINUED