Meanwhile, back on Moya, things, as usual, had found a way to get extremely bad at the worst possible time. D'Argo thought, 'What did John call it? Murphy's Law?' Grayza had found their position. They had remained relatively free from danger since they had left Chiana and John on the planet. Until now.
They hoped John had improved and that both Chiana and Crichton stayed out of trouble long enough for him to recover. D'Argo wasn't sure how long it would take for Crichton to get over Aeryn's death, but he would give his friend all the time that he needed. He was awaiting the time that he would be reunited with his best friend and his former lover. He missed both of them greatly and needed a break in routine. Rygel's complaining and Noranti's... well, nothing about that woman redeemed itself to the Luxan. Without both Chiana and John on board it had gotten very quiet on Moya. At first the reduced crew enjoyed the peace, but they all missed the others.
Both of the options that were presented to D'Argo were far from ideal. They could try and disguise the ship as a Scarren vessel, hoping that Grayza wouldn't want to start a fight and leave, however nearby planets had proven less than receptive to Scarrens and this action might cause more problems than it solved. The second option was to Starburst away from the danger of the Command Carrier, however, due the distance required to safely get away, it would leave their friends exposed and it would take Pilot some time to trace a path back to the planet. Rygel wanted to run, Noranti thought that they needed to stay and not leave Crichton and Chiana exposed. It was time for D'Argo to make a decision. If they left it much longer the Command Carrier would be close enough to leave both options redundant.
Not wanting to anger the locals, knowing that they might well need their assistance in the future, D'Argo decided the best option was to Starburst away. He didn't like either option, but he would be of no use to anyone dead, or in chains. The fact that Grayza was still chasing them and that the Scarrens didn't appear to be mounting for attack indicated that their wormhole knowledge hadn't progressed. D'Argo was certain they hadn't been able to capture Crichton, either. In the back of his mind he thought they might have captured him, but gotten nothing. He however refused to believe this was true. He had already lost enough friends that way. As Moya entered Starburst, D'Argo's thoughts were with his friends--now alone, and isolated on the planet even more than before, and more than ever intended. He hoped they would be able to survive long enough for him to return with Moya into transmission range of the comms.
Meanwhile elsewhereChiana got out of bed. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was still night outside. She couldn't sleep. Wandering out of her room, she grabbed a raslak, and sat at the table. She thought about John's revelation earlier that day. While her time on Earth had indicated to her that humans held special feelings for their first, she hadn't realized just how much it had meant to Crichton. Even after all these cycles, this human continued to surprise her. As soon as she thought she'd gotten to understand him, another layer of his emotion was unveiled.
She had decided that John would need to know. Chiana didn't know how or when to tell him or even what Crichton's reaction would be once he knew, but was sure that she had to tell him. Triumphantly she headed back to her bed. This matter was far from resolved, but enough so to allow her to get some sleep.
John was already awake by the time Chiana rose that morning, and she was greeted with a customary "Hey, there, sleepy head". He was working on...something. Intrigued, Chiana asked him what he was working on. "This, Pip," pointing to the hollowed out log, "is a boat, and this..." picking up a long stick, "is a rod. I'm going fishing or whatever there is in that lake. Wanna come with?"
"Nope, you go ahead, Old Man. I think we could both use a break from each other," Chiana responded with a wry smile on her face. Knowing it was said in jest, Crichton continued the joke. Sniffing, he responded, "Oh, so you don't love me anymore, Pip?" Breaking into light laughter while walking away, and tilting her head, Chiana said over her shoulder, "We're starting to run low on some supplies. I'll go into town and pick up a few things: Fellip Nectar, Raslak... You know; the essentials."
John packed, and even though it was only small carry, the boat meant the short walk to the lake still took longer the usual. When he arrived he pushed the boat out into the water and jumped in. Preparing his line, he cast off and then waited. Nothing was biting. He wasn't sure if it was the bait he was using, or if there wasn't actually anything in the lake. However, the reason for the excursion was not to catch anything, but just to give him time to relax; it didn't take long before he was asleep.
Chiana had made her way into the centre of the commerce district on the planet. She had been able to pick up almost all of the supplies needed without any problems. While she still got some looks from the locals, (after all, being the only Nebari on the planet would have that effect) most of them accepted her, and she had been here before while John was recuperating.
With all the needed shopping done and still a long time left before the business day ended, Chiana decided to have a look around at the other stores. The previous trips into the commerce district had all been quick visits just get what was needed and get back as soon as possible in case Crichton stirred. With him now well on the way to full recovery, Chiana finally had some time to herself. Searching the few stores, she was unable to find much that excited her.
With it now well into the afternoon on the planet, she was ready to head back to Crichton when she heard something that got her attention. Someone had recognised her. Knowing that Crichton was the only one on the planet who knew her, and it being unlikely that Moya would've returned to the planet before she had contacted them, Chiana was sure that the sound she heard was that of bounty hunters. She wasn't sure if they had landed on the planet knowing she or Crichton was there, but Chiana knew from past experience not to hang around to find out. It was time to get back and warn Crichton, unless he already knew about them. Chiana quickly started off back towards the lake.
Crichton's nap was interrupted by Chiana's panicked yelling of his name from the shore. Rowing towards her, John could see that she was uneasy about something and knowing their luck over the last 5 cycles he had a fair idea of what it was. Someone had found them. The only question in his mind was who. He reached Chiana, who was still scanning the area making sure that there was no one there, hoping that the bounty hunters hadn't followed her. "Crichton, I-I don't know how, but I think they have found us. I saw bounty hunters in the town centre. They saw me, I think. I think I was able to lose them, for now, but we should get going. I'll contact D'Argo. Hopefully, if nothing's happened to them, then they should be able to make it here in a few arns."
Leaving the boat on the shore of the lake, Crichton and Chiana both quickly headed back to the dwelling that they had called home over the last half cycle. Chiana rummaged through their belongings awhile before finding the comm. There was nothing but static on the other end of the connection. They looked at each other. "Frelling typical," they said in unison.
They had to make a decision. They could either stay here and wait, continue to try and get through to D'Argo and hope that he got there before the bounty hunters discovered where they were on the planet (if they didn't already know), or they could move-- continue to run and hope that something came up; maybe a transport, or a better hiding place, or... anything. In the end, they agreed that for now, staying would be the best option. They knew the area, and over the course of time, Chiana had plotted a few escape routes anticipating this exact problem. They loaded the weapons D'Argo had left before heading back to Moya. Winona was there, of course, as were two pulse rifles. Chiana also had her own pulse pistol.
John had no idea what they were up against; how many bounty hunters there were out there, how well armed they were or even if they knew he and Chiana were on the planet. Looking around, he noticed Chiana was distracted still, continually trying the comm, hoping that D'Argo would be able to answer. She was quickly becoming agitated by the lack of success.
John diverted his attention from the window that looked over the only path from the town centre to their current location to Chiana. "Chiana, calm down. D would've answered if he could. I'm sure he'll be here in time, just have a break. The bounty hunters may not even be looking for us, or at very least know that we are here." Not getting any response, he wrapped his arm around Chiana and pulled her in for a reassuring hug. Chiana put her arm around his waist and finally stopped fiddling with the comm.
They both had a meal and tried to relax, but neither could. They always had their attention on the outside; trying to hear a noise, see something that would alert them to arriving trouble. Hoping that nothing happened before D'Argo was able to respond and arrive, but knowing that probably wouldn't happen.
When night fell, John took first watch. He was refreshed from his nap on the lake and he could sense that Chiana needed sleep. He didn't know what, but there was something different. He had thought it was just the discovery of the bounty hunters, but that didn't make sense. They had been in worse dilemmas then this before, and Chiana had coped better. It had been a long time since he had seen her being this anxious.
After a few arns John began to grow tired. He knew they were going to take 3 arn shifts but he had been on watch for well over 5. He had checked on Chiana, but since she was getting much needed rest in his view, he continued to let her sleep. However, he couldn't risk both of them falling asleep.
Waking, Chiana looked around. It was obvious from the amount of natural light that he had taken more then his normal watch. John simply said, "You needed the rest. Wake me if anything happens." With that, he headed to his bed while Chiana found her way out to the main room.
While she was sitting keeping guard, Chiana's thoughts drifted back to Karen Shaw. In all the excitement of the last day she hadn't had much of a chance to think about it, and no chance to talk to John about it. She couldn't do it yet-- not while there was yet another attempt on both her and Crichton's lives nearby, but once this crisis was overcome as they all had been in the past, she would tell him. He had to know. She wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure how. She thought perhaps the direct approach would be best once they had the time, trying to foresee his potential response.
Chiana's thoughts were interrupted when she caught a glimpse of a figure moving outside, and then a second, third and fourth. Knowing from their movements it wasn't simply local residents who had gotten lost, she rushed to Crichton to get him up. Telling him about what had happened, she followed him out, grabbing the pulse rifles on their way.
With day now starting to break, they were able to have decent visibility. They had to make it to the forest to the east of the lake. Here in the open they were too exposed, especially now, since they knew there were at least four bounty hunters after them. The denseness of the forest would allow sufficient cover to negate any number advantage the enemy had. Firepower advantage had yet to be determined.
As they approached the lake, John could see that the four Chiana had spotted earlier were standing around his boat, along with a further three searching through the fishing equipment and rope that he had left in the boat when Chiana had come running earlier. Not wanting to pick a fight (yet), they steered clear of any further contact.
They managed to reach the dense woods without any further excitement. The only path through only allowed one being at a time and no one ventured too far off the main path, as it was too thick for most to manoeuvre through.
On Moya
While they couldn't tell if Grayza had managed to follow them or if they would fall right into her path, Pilot had used what knowledge they had gaining over the cycles of Peacekeeper tracking methods to plot the best path back to the planet that would keep them out of Grayza's grasp. D'Argo knew that it was also the longest path available to them, but getting back to the planet slowly but alive was better than getting quickly captured by the Peacekeepers. It would take them about 12 arns to be within comm range of the planet and another 20 arns from there to reach the planet.
They could only hope that they would arrive in time