Chapter 3

The remaining crew of Moya stood silently in the maintenance bay all looking down at the boat and the crystal remains of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton. Chiana couldn't see the boat but she wept in Noranti's arms. Noranti's third eye glowed brightly. D'Argo broke the silence. He wiped tears from his face and after a loud sniff said

"I can't believe that they're dead. Why would they just kill them with no warning? There just doesn't seem to be …..enough" he gestured at the crystals

"We have to face it D'Argo, they're gone," replied Chiana in a voice laced with tears

"Not dead, alive, not dead, not dead" muttered Stark

"What are you wittering about you frellnik?" demanded an exasperated Rygel

"I can't sense them at all. Their souls have not crossed over"

"Why am I always surrounded by half wits?" asked Rygel of no one in particular. Noranti suddenly spoke

"Both D'Argo and Stark are right. There doesn't seem enough remains to indicate that they are dead," and so saying she scooped up a handful of the crystals before anyone could stop her and headed for the med bay, followed by Stark and D'Argo, one muttering and one shouting.

Rygel and Chiana remained behind, both silently remembering their friends. Suddenly something caught Rygel's eye. He moved his throne sled forward and picked it up. It was the ring that Crichton had given to Aeryn.

"What is it Ryge? What are you doing?

"I've found the ring that Crichton gave to Aeryn." Chiana screamed and threw herself in what she thought was Rygel's direction. She scored a direct hit.

"Get a grip, girl. I wasn't going to steal it. Even I couldn't bring myself to do that"

"You expect me to believe you?"

"Here you have it. We'll take it together to Crichton's quarters and leave it there. It should be kept with his other things"

"How do I know that you won't sneak back and take it"

"I was there when he died the last time. We always joked about me not having his stuff after he'd gone" Chiana could tell by his voice that the dominar was deeply affected by the loss of his friends.

"We'll avenge them, Ryge"

"Revenge won't bring them back" he replied morosely

"No, but it might make us feel a bit better"

In the med bay Noranti was brewing up some sort of concoction. She tasted it spat it our then mixed in the crystals. After a few microts she examined the mixture carefully.

"The crystals are mainly composed of organic materials" she announced. D'Argo hung his head. Despite his scepticism and knowing that they were both a few denches short of a metra, he had clung to the hope that Noranti's and Stark's raving had instilled in him, and could almost have believed that his friends were still alive.

"That's it then. They're gone"

"No. The organic material corresponds to the same make up of their clothing. I can find no trace of anything that corresponds to their bodies"

"Nothing?"

"Nothing"

"Not dead, not dead"