By Periapt
Time: Post PKW
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Farscape, along with its unique characters, places, and events, is the intellectual property of Jim Henson Productions, et al. My use of this property is for entertainment purposes only, and the indulgence of the owners is appreciated.
No money or other tangible items of value have been offered or received for any part of this work. Nor will any be accepted (unless explicitly offered and/or approved by the copyright holders).
Periapt
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Thoughts in the void:
It's so quiet. The shouting, the weapons fire, the screams of the wounded... the smell of burnt flesh, the taste of blood in my mouth, and the fear, the joy... the pain, all gone.
I'm dead!
Memories:
The others! I was guarding their backs, buying time... at what cost?
No matter, it had to be paid!
The Scarrans, and their lackeys...Charrids... I held them, slaughtered them in rows so my comrades could escape.
My comrades... John, Aeryn, their son... a SON! I have a son... a brave and glorious son who, who... betrayed me once with—Chiana!
Oh, Chiana, are you alive? Did you win free? I gave you my blade and they took you away... dragged you away, but you had to survive!
Then I fought, Oh how I fought! I was invincible! They came; I killed them. More came; I kept on killing them until... a soundless white flash... then blackness, and voices.
"Why is he so important to you? He'll only slow us down and we don't know how much time we have. It's growing larger by the microt!"
"You wouldn't understand, but it doesn't matter. You want to live and HE is the price. Here, help me with this."
A tugging at the head...
"It'll take too long. We can't make two trips and I'm carrying all I can!"
"I'll do it! Now, hold your breath."
A hissing, then... nothing...
Sounds:
Faint clicks and warbles, wind and flowing water... fragments of speech, "How long... wakes?"
A different voice, "... soon to tell. I... done this before. Maybe..."
A soft pervasive throbbing, all fading to silence again...
Sensations:
Heat, cold, a feather-light touch and... Pain! That means I'm alive! Light, shadows, movement...
Darkness again...
Awakening:
This is wonderful. Cool softness at my back and beneath my head; warm softness covering me. I'm in a bed. I must sit up. I can't move! I'm bound... a prisoner! I must escape!
"Release me!"
The bearded man was jolted from sleep by the cry.
"Release me or I'll kill you! I'll KILL YOU ALL!"
As the figure on the bed raged and thrashed against the restraints, the former sleeper slapped and injector button and thumbed his comm unit, "You'd better get in here. He's awake, and he's not happy!"
The prisoner turned towards the voice. "Grunchlk?"
"The very same, D'Argo."
D'Argo? D'Argo... Ka... it's my name. My name is Ka D'Argo!
The door behind Grunchlk hissed open. "And I think you know..." but D'Argo was no longer listening. As the drug took effect, his head sank back onto the pillow and turned towards the bedside table, where a polished metal case reflected his countenance back at him.
The face was that of a stranger.
----------
When D'Argo awoke again, he was unbound. Grunchlk was seated at the foot of the bed, dressed in a light-gray jumpsuit. He was also better groomed than D'Argo remembered him.
Carefully rising from the bed, D'Argo found himself to be dressed much like Grunchlk. He made his way to the lavatory and studied himself in the mirror.
"So I didn't imagine it."
He turned towards the other, "What have you done to me?"
"He did nothing, except nearly kill you by allowing you to awaken too soon."
D'Argo stiffened at the sight of the newcomer.
"You!"
Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu nodded and smiled thinly. "I saved you, and Grunchlk, and his pet Diagnosan."Grunchlk bristled, "The Doc's not my pet. He's my colleague."
D'Argo looked only at Sikozu. "But I shouldn't be alive. My wounds were mortal. And my face, my body, they're not Luxan, they appear Sebacean. What have you done to me?"
"There is no time to talk about this now. The owners of this facility are going to be here soon, and will be most unhappy if they find us here." She placed a data-stick into a slot in the console near the door and began a download.
"Grunchlk, get our gear and meet us at the scout. I'll power down the equipment. If we're lucky, they won't realize we've been here until we're out of range of their detectors."
As Diagnosan's agent left to comply, Sikozu powered down the non-vital systems and placed the rest into standby mode. When the download was complete she removed the data stick from the console and placed it in a secure pouch at her waist. She then closed down the workstation and turned towards D'Argo.
"That carrying case on the table, bring it, and follow me."
D'Argo did nothing, "Why should I help you?"
"Because I saved your life. Because we will all be killed, or worse, if they catch us here. So unless you fancy dying again, let's go! And bring the case. We can't let them find it, and besides, it belongs to you."
D'Argo took the case and followed Sikozu into the passageway. She moved quickly, dimming lights and re-setting security seals as they went. They eventually entered a low, dim tunnel that opened into a narrow cleft in a fog-shrouded, rocky hillside.
They halted at the sound of a ship passing overhead. After satisfying herself it was safe, Sikozu motioned him forward, into the cleft.
"Our transport is about a Metra away in a stand of trees. Grunchlk will be waiting for us there."
"You mean, if he hasn't lifted without us."
Sikozu held up a small object. "No, he will wait for us. The flight controls are locked, and I have the key. Now, let's go."
Moving quickly to the nearby brush, she motioned D'Argo to follow. He rose and stepped from the cleft, and ran headlong into a uniformed figure that strode around the boulder to his left. For an instant, the two stood motionless, facing each other at arm's length. Then the newcomer tore a sidearm from its holster.
Before the other's weapon came level, it was smashed from his grasp by the case in D'Argo's right hand. A kick to the knee brought his opponent to the ground with a cry of pain. The cry ended in a rattle as D'Argo's left hand closed on the throat and his right prepared for the death stroke.
"No! Don't kill him!"
It was Sikozu. Her weapon was aimed at the prisoner.
D'Argo loosened his grip on the man's throat only slightly. His right hand remained poised. "Remain still, or die."
The man's eyes turned towards Sikozu and a look of pure hatred suffused his face.
"Traitor!"
Sikozu's weapon snapped, the man's body arched backwards in spasm and went limp. D'Argo released his grip and bent over the pale face... he was still breathing. "Stunned?"
Sikozu nodded, "He'll recover in a few arns. We need to be off planet before he wakes. She relieved their victim of his communicator and up his fallen sidearm. "Put him in the tunnel. It won't do for him to be found too soon"
D'Argo accomplished his task quickly. Before leaving, he bent once more over the unconscious soldier. In the dim light, the man appeared to be Kalish.
"D'Argo, there is no more time!"
He collected the case and followed Sikozu into the brush. She set a rapid pace and they arrived at the tree line within half an arn.
The transport was hidden beneath the arching branches of several great trees. It was a small reconnaissance craft, apparently of Scarran manufacture. Grunchlk could be seen in the airlock, waving them on urgently.
They covered the remaining distance at a run and Grunchlk secured the doors behind them.
"I thought you were lost! Two ships have already passed right overhead, on approach to the complex. We've got to go!"
"Any search craft?"
Grunchlk eyed the sky nervously, "Not yet, but it's only a matter of time."
Sikozu headed for the pilot's seat. "Less time than you know. We had a problem at the tunnel exit. But this fog will help. If we stay low and slow, we should clear the area without trouble... if they aren't seriously looking for someone."
The craft rose on muffled lifters and moved silently off into the mist.
Several arns later they had cleared the atmosphere and were approaching a small moonlet in orbit around the planet. Grunchlk had been fretting since they left the grove and now sighed in relief, "Nearly home. I'm happy to be away from that place, I can tell you."
The comm speaker beeped, "Sikozu! Sikozu, do you hear me? Rhukon has detected two Striker class warships closing on you at high speed! We are prepared to leave as soon as you arrive, but hurry!"
"I hear you!" Sikozu went to full power... stealth was pointless now. "Turn on the docking lights. We'll be there in, 300 microts.
"Grunchlk, D'Argo, strap in-- now!"
"Sikozu, they have detected us as well! The first striker is demanding our surrender and is maneuvering to match velocity with us. The other is targeting you and accelerating to attack speed. It will be at the firing point before you can dock."
"Then we won't dock. We'll keep accelerating and aim for the stern. Time starburst for when we arrive, in about thirty microts."
D'Argo's head snapped up. "Starburst? What..."
"Not now, D'Argo! Get ready, Pilot."
"Ready, Sikozu. Starburst in twenty microts; 19, 18, 17..."
The striker was nearing its firing point.
"11, 10, 9..."
In the shadow of the moonlet, the starburst field began to build at Rhukon's tail.
"7, 6, 5... the striker has fired."
Sikozu yanked her straps as tight as she could, "Hang on!"
D'Argo tensed; Grunchlk looked ready to be sick.
"2, 1, Starburst!"
The universe turned itself inside out.
The striker's shots passed harmlessly through the space once occupied by its target and impacted on the moonlet's surface. Both Rhukon and Sikozu's craft had vanished.
----------
Sikozu shut down the drive. She had begun maximum braking at the zero count and calculated they should be at rest relative to the leviathan.
"Pilot, do you have a fix on us?"
"Yes, Sikozu. We should have you aboard in less than a quarter-arn."
"Thank you, Pilot; we're looking forward to it."
"As are Rhukon and I."
D'Argo unbuckled his harness and stood, Sikozu having already done so.
"Rhukon... a leviathan. How...?"
Sikozu shrugged, "We found him after we left the water planet. The Peacekeepers had used him as cargo and troop carrier. He'd been damaged in the battle and the crew had abandoned ship, leaving him a derelict. The damage was not as severe as it initially appeared, and Rhukon was able to get underway once I managed to release the restraint collar. The DRDs made initial repairs and later were able to finish the job. So Rhukon is now fully space-worthy. In gratitude, Pilot and Rhukon have pledged their service to us for as long as we have need of it."
D'Argo eyed Grunchlk, who was out of his harness and looking pale, but otherwise fit. "What about Grunchlk, what's between you two?"
"He and I are partners, D'Argo. Now, put your hands behind your head and turn around very carefully."
D'Argo did as she ordered and found himself staring at the muzzle of her stunner.
"Please remove the stinger from the inside pocket of your jumpsuit and toss it towards Grunchlk. I saw you take it from the Kalish you overpowered. And D'Argo, don't do anything foolish. This is a Scarran stunner. It's very painful, and I really don't want to hurt you."
Grunchlk retrieved and gave it to Sikozu. "The Doc was unconscious and I was looking for a way to get us off planet when I found Sikozu. I knew the location of a vessel, this one, and she knew how to pilot it. We struck a bargain."
Sikozu's mouth twisted into a smirk. "He was most agreeable. He claimed he'd always favored the Scarran cause and was ready to swear undying loyalty to the Empire."
D'Argo's face was a study in loathing. "You were made for each other. A traitor and a blatant opportunist... may your children bring you joy, if they don't cut your throats while you sleep."
An enigmatic expression crossed Sikozu's face, "Bioloids, while fully functional, are utterly sterile."
Grunchlk raised his hands, "Our partnership is purely professional. I did offer to comfort her once, her being abandoned, as it were. She offered to feed me my own Mivonks... raw." He shuddered, visibly.
"He didn't realize it at the time, but that offer of fealty to the Scarrans was not what I wanted to hear. Had I not needed his help I might have done worse."
"'Worse' depends entirely upon one's perspective, dear lady." He shook his head, "I've not been the first to midjudge her, D'Argo. And I doubt I'll be the last.
"Be that as it may, en route to the ship we happened upon the scene of your final battle and she, uh, re-negotiated the contract to include rescuing you."
"My body must have massed nearly twice yours, Grunchlk. How did you manage to move it?"
"I didn't do it, she did. I wasn't about to abandon the Doc for you, seeing how you were dead, or nearly so."
Puzzled, D'Argo looked to Sikozu.
"Scarran embalming gas. It preserves tissues perfectly at any temperature. It even preserves the brain, with personality and memories intact. I had a small canister with me and used it on you. Then I took your head. It wasn't difficult to carry."
D'Argo thought of the case he'd been carrying and swallowed, hard.
----------
Once again D'Argo found himself confined aboard a leviathan. After their arrival he'd been escorted to a cell. Sikozu had promised to answer all his questions, but nearly a solar day had passed, and she had not returned.
He hadn't realized how tired he was until he lay down... he'd fallen asleep immediately and awakened stiff and hungry. The DRDs had brought him an excellent meal, toiletries and a change of clothes. Now, clean, fed and rested he waited impatiently to confront the Scarran spy.
"Ka D'Argo," it was Grunchlk, "Sikozu will be down shortly. Is there anything you require at the present?"
"A pulse rifle and a transport pod would be nice."
"Hah! I don't think we can accommodate that request just now."
"I didn't think so. Actually I'm quite comfortable."
Grunchlk grinned. "Well, it is officers country, you know. You should see the troop deck. There's a lot of work to be done there"
"Sikozu said you were partners. What did she mean?"
"Why business partners, of course. We're going to turn Rhukon into a full-service medical clinic. Ah! Here she is now."
Sikozu looked at D'Argo, "Can I trust you to behave if I open the door?"
D'Argo nodded, "You have my word. Besides, where would I go?"
"Your word is more than sufficient. Pilot, Ka D'Argo has the freedom of the ship until further notice. Please grant him the courtesy and hospitality due an honored guest."
The image of Rhukon's symbiotic companion glowed in the video shell. "As you wish, Sikozu. Welcome aboard, Ka D'Argo. Rhukon and I will do our best to make your stay enjoyable."
"Thank you, Pilot. Please open the door to my quarters for Sikozu and Grunchlk." The door opened with the slightest hiss.
D'Argo's cell, now his stateroom, was comfortably but simply furnished. In addition to the bed, there was a small table with two chairs, and some storage space. Sikozu entered and sat on one of the chairs; D'Argo sat on the other, facing her. Grunchlk remained where he was.
Once D'Argo was seated, Sikozu began. "I promised to answer your questions. What do you want to know?"
D'Argo sighed, looking at his hands. "How long has it taken to revive me?"
"Two solar days. But it took nearly a full cycle to obtain access to the necessary equipment and supplies."
"Grunchlk said this leviathan was a medical clinic. What were we doing on that planet?"
Grunchlk shook his head. "I said we're turning it into a clinic. Our capabilities are limited at present, and yours was a special case."
"I see. So you broke into that place and your Diagnosan used the facilities there to transplant my brain into a new body. And what poor frellnick had to die so I could have this body? Whose life did I steal?"
Grunchlk shook his head. "Doc and me had nothing to do with it! We deal with the living, not the dead." He shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there are some things I need to check up on."
D'Argo listened to the departing footsteps. Grunchlk had appeared positively embarrassed. What could make someone like him blush?
"It may interest you to know that Grunchlk actually recognizes boundaries to what he considers ethical professional conduct. It seems I crossed one of them.
"Sikozu, what—did—you--do?"
"The effect of the embalming gas is not reversible. All that remained of you were the neural patterns that comprised your personality and memories. I transferred those patterns into a blank bioloid."
"You... NO!" Sikozu's last word thundered his mind. D'Argo leapt to his feet, but his legs refused to hold him and he collapsed to his hands and knees on the floor.
----------
D'Argo raised his head to find Sikozu kneeling in front of him. "So, Ka D'Argo is dead, after all."
"That depends upon your point of view." She helped him up to the bed. "Let me tell you about myself."
D'Argo nodded, and she began to speak:
There was a young Kalish named Sikozu whose father served as the personal secretary to an incompetent Scarran officer. Through negligence, this Scarran failed to inform his superior of the impending arrival of an Imperial Delegation.
The ensuing embarrassment was blamed on the secretary, who had, in fact, received notice and duly posted the information to the Officer's daily briefing file two solar days prior to the visit. Both the superior and the head of the delegation were familiar with this officer's reputation, but agreed that it would not do for the officer's incompetence to be generally acknowledged. So the charge stood, and the Sikozu's father was publicly flogged to death for gross dereliction of duty. Because such an offence was considered treasonous, each member condemned's family was required to deliver one stroke of the lash to the dead body.
That night her mother committed suicide.
Young Sikozu swore to avenge her parents and to do everything in her power to bring down that evil system.
In time she joined the resistance. The intelligence, daring and unwavering commitment to the cause that she exhibited in training brought her to the attention of the leadership. After completion of her basic training, she was offered the chance to join an elite corps of operatives entrusted with the most dangerous and vital assignments.
Fewer than one in a thousand candidates were accepted into training and only one in ten of those accepted graduated. Sikozu was among the best, and volunteered to undergo total bioloid transference, making her a one of the resistance's most secret and valuable agents.
"Bioloid transference... is that what you did to me?"
"Yes. An enhanced bioloid is used. They were developed in secret by the Kalish resistance and are greatly advanced over the version used by the Scarrans to impersonate Aeryn. When a total transference is completed, the original body is left a mindless husk that quickly dies."
"It sounds to me as if the real Sikozu is dead."
Sikozu shook her head. "D'Argo, I possess everything that made Sikozu who she was, who I am. Her memories, her likes and dislikes are mine... so are her fears, her joys, her sorrows... and her dreams. I laugh, I cry, I bleed as she would. My neural patterns are hers. If I am not she, then who am I?"
D'Argo had no answer, and Sikozu continued, "I heard many stories during my time aboard Moya. Some I could scarcely believe, but her Pilot assured me they were true."
At this, D'Argo smiled, "Not all of the stories you heard were true. Only the most fantastic."
"Indeed... In the encounter with the Halosians, your identity spent time in both Pilot's and Chiana's bodies, yet you remained yourself, as did the others. And aboard Rhovu, the derelict leviathan, Kaarvok duplicated you and killed one of the pair. Who survived, and who died? Can you tell? Does it matter?"
Sikozu leaned forward, eyes intent on D'Argo's face. "In the end YOU were alive, just as YOU are alive now. You must decide who you are. Are you D'Argo, or someone else? It's your choice, but decide! If you don't you will go insane like the Xarai on Kaarvok's ship."
D'Argo rose again and went to the mirror, studying his face; exploring his body. He ran through a Luxan martial arts exercise, a mind-calming routine taught by Katoya, and finally, he recited his lineage. He returned to the bed and sat. "Okay. I'm D'Argo, for now. But why the Sebacean body?"
"It was a matter of practicality. Your body was gone and there were no Luxan bioloids on hand. The only blank bioloids were either Sebacean or Kalish. To use a completely unformed bioloid would require a template to copy, and there were only myself, the Diagnosan and..."
"Grunchlk... Thank you for not using him."
Sikozu shrugged, "There was also the factor of time. We had penetrated a secret Kalish resistance facility. It was not then in use, but that could change at any time and it would be...unfortunate for us to be apprehended by my former comrades. The Sebacean blank was the biggest one and I thought it might be easier for you to adapt to it."
"That was considerate of you." D'Argo leaned forward, hands on knees, "Now tell me why you've done this."
"You lost your life because of my actions. I wanted to give you back what I'd cost you."
"Not possible, though I can believe the young girl you described would wish to. But not you... there's something else. What is it?"
Sikozu cast her eyes downward, "Whether you believe it, or not, the sentiment is genuine. But, yes, there is more. I need your help."
D'Argo rose with fists clenched, towering over her, "My help? So you can betray me again, like you betrayed Crichton and Scorpius and the others that helped you?" He spat on the deck at her feet.
Sikozu's eyes flashed as she, too, lunged to her feet, glaring defiantly up at D'Argo, "You have little room to lecture me about betrayal!"
In spite of himself, D'Argo took a step back in the face of her anger.
"Remember the stories I heard aboard Moya? Remember the one about Namtar? He promised you a way to go home... for a price... Do you remember?"
D'Argo paled, "I remember."
"What was the price, D'Argo?"
"He demanded one of pilot's arms." D'Argo sat, his breathing becoming ragged.
"And Pilot gave you his arm, willingly?"
"No."
"Then what did you do?"
It was D'Argo's turn to look at the floor.
"We took it."
"Louder, D'Argo, I didn't hear you!"
"WE TOOK IT!"
"Took it? Three of you assaulted a harmless creature who had shown you nothing but kindness and hacked off his arm while he screamed in fear and agony!"
D'Argo was silent.
"And what did you get for your treachery?"
"Nothing. Namtar lied."
"And Pilot?"
"He forgave us." There were tears on D'Argo's cheeks. "He understood why we had done it. He forgave us and he gave us his trust... We didn't deserve it!"
Sikozu knelt at D'Argo's feet and placed her hand upon his.
"Look at me... please."
D'Argo raised his head and, for the first time since his re-awakening, looked at her. He saw beauty, calculating intelligence, pride, and contempt for weakness and ineptitude. All familiar, but subdued, shadowed, as if a cloud had come between her and the light.
"I don't know if anyone will be willing to forgive or trust me... or if they should. I cannot excuse my actions, but I need to make you understand why I did what I did."
D'Argo nodded.
"If nothing else, I owe you the chance to try."
"A chance is all I ask," Sikozu bowed her head in thanks.
"I never believed you could win until I knew Scorpius. His hatred of the Scarrans matched my own. His determination to bring them down was unmatched."
She shook her head at the remembered irony, "At first I thought I could use this to manipulate him. But I soon discovered it was he who was the master of every situation. He was never without a plan. 'Foresight and preparedness,' these were his watchwords. Time and again he turned defeat, if not into victory, then at least into opportunity."
D'Argo nodded. That was Scorpius.
"And when his interest in me became personal, for the first time since the death of my parents, I felt someone cared for me!"
D'Argo's eyebrows rose, "Cared for you? It's hard to imagine Scorpius caring for anybody."
"There is much about Scorpius you do not know Ka D'Argo. He was once Staleek's spy, as I was Akhna's."
"So you admit it; you were a spy!"
"A double agent, D'Argo. It is much easier to work against someone if they think you are working FOR them."
"But you sold out, in the end."
"I did NOT sell out!
"My first, and overriding loyalty was to the Kalish resistance... to my people! My goal was freedom for my people."
"And you felt Scorpius could help you?"
Sikozu nodded, "The resistance's greatest problem was how to overcome the military power of the Scarrans. Scorpius believed it would not be necessary to annihilate them. If their chain of command could be disrupted at the proper time, the resulting confusion would create chaos within the Scarran leadership. The Hierarchy would then break into warring factions and the Empire would collapse into a civil war from which the Kalish could arise as their own masters."
D'Argo looked thoughtful, but un-convinced, "I can see how that would suit Scorpius. But how would it benefit the Kalish? In a civil war of that magnitude, the death toll could run into the tens of billions, if not more. And what of others who might move in to exploit the situation?"
Sikozu shook her head, "No. There would be casualties, of course, but the Scarrans are a minority outside their home worlds. The seat of their power lies there, as does the ultimate source of the Crystherium, so the greatest fighting would be in and around those systems.
"Most worlds of the Empire have only a token presence and are run by the locals with help of Kalish technicians and administrators. Loyalty is maintained though fear of reprisal.
"The major threat to the Kalish would be the Charrids. But they are mercenaries loyal to he Scarran who pays their wages, and willing to slaughter each other if the price is right. They would burn in the same fire that consumed the Scarrans."
D'Argo gave a satisfied nod. He'd seen far too much wanton cruelty on the part of the Charrids to feel any sympathy for them.
"Scorpius was convinced that the wormhole weapon was the perfect tool to accomplish his purpose. The destruction of Emperor Staleek and his fleet followed by a benevolent offer of peace, backed by the threat of further destruction, would split the Scarran leadership and trigger the collapse."
D'Argo nodded. "So you worked with Scorpius to make that happen. What changed your mind?"
"John Crichton changed my mind."
"Crichton?"
"When Scorpius discovered Crichton was alive, he abandoned his desperate attempt at a pre-emptive strike, dooming his Armada to destruction and leaving the Peacekeepers enmeshed in a war they could not win without the Wormhole Weapon. But Crichton had resisted all previous efforts to give up the secret of that weapon.
"In truth, I feared that Crichton would not be able to produce a controllable weapon in time to win the war, but that Scorpius would somehow force him to try. Unlike Scorpius, I believed Crichton when he said the wormhole weapon was too dangerous and feared we would all be destroyed by it, Scarrans, Luxans, Peacekeepers, Kalish... everybody. So I contacted War Minister Akhna and offered her Crichton for the freedom of my people."
D'Argo looked at her in amazement.
"And you believed she'd honor that bargain?"
"Regardless of what you may believe, Scarrans are not without honor. They do not give their word lightly. And what choice did I have? I believed if Scorpius and Crichton were not stopped, we were lost. The Peacekeepers had no chance in a straight fight; so the Scarrans would win. If they disavowed the agreement, we were no worse off than before. But if they kept their word..."
"Did they?"
Sikozu met D'Argo's gaze, tears on HER cheeks now.
"D'Argo, he won. Scorpius won! And not in spite of my betrayal, but because of it! As I put Crichton and his family in greater peril I created the very situation that forced him to unleash the Wormhole Weapon. And it was terrible beyond imagining... a great blazing eye that devoured all it beheld! I think it might have consumed the galaxy and even the universe itself if Staleek had not capitulated."
"So there was peace?"
"Yes. For a time."
"What happened?"
"When Staleek put his seal on the treaty, he was sealing his own fate as well. I don't doubt that he knew it, but he'd given his word.
"Within half a cycle he was assassinated and the civil war Scorpius hoped for had begun. Akhna might have held things together for a while, but she was gone. By the time they are finished it will take the Scarrans a thousand cycles to rejoin the ranks of the great powers, if they ever can.
"And their subjects are breaking free. Already the Kalish have sent envoys to the Luxans, Hyneria, and the Peacekeepers, negotiating defense treaties in return for trading rights and abandoned Scarran military technology."
"Military technology?"
"The Strikers that attacked us were under Kalish control, you know. They will be the inheritors of much that belonged to the Scarrans."
D'Argo was puzzled, "I'd have thought you'd be happy. Your people are free. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Sikozu's face was a mask of despair.
"You don't understand. I'm a spy, a collaborator, a traitor! There is no place for me in the new order of things. My own family believes I served those who had my father slaughtered and drove my mother to suicide. They would kill me if I showed my face.
"D'Argo. Because I believed them doomed to fail, I betrayed everyone close to me... my allies, my friends, my... and Scorpius. And all for nothing!
"Inclusion and Honesty... that's what I demanded of Scorpius for my help. Had I given the same to him, had I kept faith, we would still be..."
"Together?"
"Allies! We were... allies."
D'Argo shook his head and smiled at her in wonderment.
"You love him. The most UN-loveable being I have ever met, and you love him."
"No! I... I admire... respect..."
"As John Crichton would say, bullshit! You love him."
"What would a bioloid know about love?"
Sikozu's chin had fallen to her chest. D'Argo reached out and gently lifted it until their eyes met again.
"Why would a bioloid laugh," D'Argo's other hand wiped the tears from her cheeks, "or cry? Or was that pep-talk you gave me just a load of dren?"
"No, D'Argo. It was the truth as I see it. But I'm not sure my judgment is to be trusted."
"Sikozu, you made the best deal you thought possible for your people. There is no way to know how it would have come out if you'd acted differently.
"In the end, the Kalish got what you wanted for them. Be glad for it! So they don't understand your part in it. It's not fair, but when has life ever been fair?
"Life is to be lived. It's up to each of us make of it what we can. We are alive, you and I. Whatever else we are, whatever we may have done, we are alive! And where there is life, there is opportunity... and hope."
Sikozu's hands rose to clasp D'Argo's. "Thank you, D'Argo. Thank you for listening; for understanding."
D'Argo pressed her hands in return and stood, raising Sikozu to her feet. "You've given me a lot to think about, and I need some time now to sort things out."
"Of course. We both need time to think. Good night, D'Argo."
"Good night, Sikozu. Sleep well."
----------
Sikozu sat in her quarters examining a cooling rod. Its blue color declared it ready for use. As always, she had carried it for Scorpius to use in case of an emergency. Now it was her only concrete link to him and the time they had spent together. She pressed it to her cheek, enjoying the coolness of its touch, alone now with her thoughts:
Where are you now, Scorpius? What are you doing? Do you think of me?
When you confronted me with my betrayal and tore the communicator from my back, I knew my death was at hand. But you spared me and sent me away with an emptiness inside I could not understand and could scarcely bear!
Perhaps D'Argo is right. Perhaps I do love you.
And what of your feelings? Why didn't you kill me?
D'Argo listened to my story and he no longer hates me. He understands. And if one person understands, might not others? Others like Aeryn, like Crichton... like Scorpius?
The rod held no answers, only memories. She replaced it in its case and stretched out on her bed. As she closed her eyes her thoughts echoed D'Argo's words:
We are alive, and where there is life, there is opportunity... and hope.
Her lips curled in a faint smile, and the shadows on her face began to dissipate, like morning fog beneath a rising sun.
THE END
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