"Commander, I—"
John Crichton shook his head as he was running towards the docking bay, "NO, Pilot, I don't care what the explanation is, I want to know who the hell is in my module!" his hand was on Winona, who fitted in perfectly with his mood, and his eyes flashed in anger, "If this is some half-baked wackjob of Furlow's, I'm going to sue for copyright infringement. Aeryn, can you meet me in docking bay one, or are you too moody to move?"
"John, If I can run with your bloody child in my womb..." she snapped.
"NEVERMIND......" Well that plan's shot, he thought, Aeryn's still going through the motions of motherhood..... Not that I'm not grateful. I mean, in about a half cycle, she is having my child.......
Now that he was thinking about the due date of his and Aeryn's baby, John grew more and more antsy, and nervous. Man, I'm going to be a daddy, he thought, and grinned, The first thing I'm teaching him or her, is football. Good ol' fashioned football, the sport of sports....
"Pilot! Have you located my module yet?"
"No, Commander; for some reason it is harder to track than most ships. I am getting only a weak reading on its location."
"Are you searching for a ship or a rock, Pilot?"
"Despite your technology being primitive, I am fairly able to track your module. However, the module that appeared after the wormhole opened is drastically different from yours."
John stopped, his pulse quickening, "Wait a minute, you're telling me that that module out there ISN'T mine?"
"No, only different than yours. It may possibly be yours, but with altercations applied to it."
"John, that module is not yours," replied D'Argo from one of the maintenance bays, "I'm looking at yours right now."
"So what does that mean? That someone else built a module that looks like mine, acts like mine, but isn't?"
"What does it matter if it is yours or not?" groaned Aeryn.
"Honey, if it's somebody else's, then that either means that DK got a little smarter from when we were on Earth the last time, or someone decided to tap my brain again. Or, it could be Furlow, who's still roaming the wide open spaces from the last time we've seen her."
"Commander, we are getting a low frequency transmission from the module in this part of space," replied Pilot, "We cannot move for several microts due to the Scarren-Peacekeeper War. But as soon as she is able, Moya will starbust."
"Good, patch it thorough," replied John, sighing with relief, "Finally we're going to get some answers."
A slight bit of static was heard over the comm. system before a crackly voice began their hail, "Farscape II to Moya, please come in....."
"Farscape II?" yelped the human, incredulous, "That isn't DK's voice, that's for sure."
"How the frell do they know Moya?" replied Aeryn from her and John's quarters.
Something strange was going on, and things were more than they seemed. Something was bugging John about who spoke those words, but he couldn't place it, "Pilot, bring that ship in." He then addressed the impostor module, "We're going to bring you in, ok? Just try and stay in one piece, we'll guide you to Moya, and she'll catch you in her docking webs."
"Thank you..." replied the voice before it crackled off.
"Finally, we're going to get some well to do answers."
She could hardly believe her luck. MOYA! Solaris would have jumped for joy if she had the room. A low impulse coordinate trail was picked up on her scanners, and following it without being seen, she flew the module as best she could in her weakened state, until the familiar hull of Moya filled her screen. "I'm home," she murmured, the strain too much. Closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair as Moya drug her in, the half-human was tired, more tired than she ever had been in her life. But she was home, and her parents were alive..... nothing could be better than that.
Pilot caught the module in Moya's docking webs, and indeed, it held a different stature than that of John's. Several sections had been replaced with bio-metalloid panels, and upgrades to the engines made it more powerful, faster, and quieter. Even the automated pulse cannons affixed to the sides that could attract and detract were more advanced than Crichton's design by a mile, so there was no way of mistaking one for the other.
John himself was waiting in the docking bay as the module was brought in, and he whistled low and loud, looking at the modifications up and down, "Damn, she got a beauty makeover," he replied, and noticed that the cockpit door was actually sliding backwards instead of popping out. "People are getting more Star Trek everyday....." With Winona raised, he called, "Alright, come out."
The entrance that came next was not what he expected. A hand slid form the cockpit and tried to hoist the rest of the feminine body out, but was unable to lift herself out and land on her feet. Falling downwards off the module and onto the floor, the creature looked like a human girl with brown hair at shoulder length. But she was dressed as a Peacekeeper, and John himself knew that appearances could be deceiving. Just because it looked human, didn't mean that it was.
"Alright, stand up, and put your hands where I can see them," he demanded, pointing Winona at the girl.
It was then that she tilted her head up, and caught him in the eyes, "John? John... Crichton?"
His own blues widened when D'Argo skidded to a halt beside him, his Qualta Blade in gun-mode, "Who are you, and what do you want here?"
Her eyes welled up with tears before she answered with a question, "D'Argo?"
"How do you know my name? Who are you!!?!??!"
"D, cool it, and put the gun down."
Crichton's direction confused the Luxan, "We don't know what she is or who she is. She looks Peacekeeper to me but...... she......" Sniffing the air, he looked even more lost, "She doesn't smell Sebacean, exactly. She smells... different."
By this time, she had made it to her knees, "D'Argo, you're alive...."
He snarled at her, but John put a hand on his shoulder, "It's ok, D. I think...." he looked at the girl a bit more, and a small smile came to his lips, "I think I know her." He holstered Winona and walked to the girl, kneeling on his knees and she raised her eyes to his, ".......Lara?"
She cried and nodded, falling into him in a hug. "I didn't..... didn't think you'd recognize me......."
"I almost didn't, but I remembered all those freaky dreams I had...... memories, too. Like when you were in South Carolina, down at the docks, and in my mind with Harvey..." he tapped his head, "He's still in there, so even if I didn't, he'd vouch for it."
"I just.. Just can't believe I'm...... home...."
"John what is—"Aeryn, finally making her way to the docking bay, saw her lover on his knees in front of a young girl, and she instantly drew her pulse pistol, "John, who is....?"
"Aeryn," he began, and grinned over at her, "This is our daughter, Lara."
"DAUGHTER?" Aeryn looked confused, and cocked her head to one side, "How? How did she--?"
"I traveled by wormhole to get here," the younger explained, "Me and a friend of mine....... Oh my god! Jace!" She struggled to her feet with the help of John, and she tried to climb back in the module head first. Without any common sense, she flipped right on top of Jace, and saw one of the most horrifying things in her life.
Jace Kohen was shaking tremendously, a mix of blood and foam coming from out his mouth among his convulsions. He couldn't stop shaking and he would not wake up; Solaris knew what she would find underneath his eyelids too: his beautiful green eyes, bloodshot and bright red, with a dull gleam within them.
"Jace....." she breathed, and clasped him to her, and tried to lift him out. Her father helped, and when their hands touched, she collapsed in a fit of pain, her mind reeling and her mouth screaming. This had to be the worst of the worse, and it was like being in the Aurora Chair again, only this time, there was no device to rip out her memories, only her own mind tormenting her mind.
She fell into D'Argo's waiting arms, and unconsciousness soon followed. This time, she didn't wake up for quite some time.
You know the drill. and DSP, don't worry, everything's going to be explained......