"I ordered you to give me an explanation, Sun."

Aeryn was confused. Something was not right.

"First you tell me what the frell is going on here," insisted John.

Crais motioned for one of the guards to cover John. "You will not speak unless spoken to." He stepped closer to Aeryn. "What are you doing on this Leviathan? Have you turned traitor?"

John could hear the menace in Crais' voice. "You declared her irr…" he didn't finish as the guard smacked him with the butt of his pulse rifle.

"Captain, this situation is more complex than it appears," Aeryn explained.

"Obviously, since you are supposed to be dead," he said dryly. "Is there a logical explanation?" He was quickly losing patience with their evasiveness. He had hoped to come in and quickly secure this wild Leviathan. It could then be used to provide the material needed to repair Talyn.

John had regained his feet. He was starting to put all the information together. "I can explain." He blocked the blow from the pulse rifle this time.

Crais turned his attention on Crichton. "Then by all means, explain."

"You're the one that's supposed to be dead."

The guard moved to strike John again, but Crais raised his hand to stop the guard. He circled John. He was mildly amused. "I am supposed to be dead? This is an interesting explanation. Continue."

"Not quite a cycle ago, you and Talyn starburst in the hangar of the command carrier Churat."

"You would have me believe I destroyed my own command carrier?" This was one of the most interesting lies he had ever heard.

"It wasn't your ship at the time. Scorpius had stolen it from you." When Crais didn't comment he continued. "Since you don't have any memory of this, I think you might be from a different reality."

Crais stopped his circling and cocked an eyebrow, "Different reality?"

"Look, this would be a lot easier to explain without guns pointed at my face. We're not armed and we're obviously not going to overpower you."

"Is this your entire crew?"

"There are two more, but they aren't going to hurt you."

"You and Senior Officer Sun will accompany me to the center chamber. The others will remain here under guard."

Four of the guards escorted Aeryn and John while Crais followed behind. Aeryn whispered to John, "Do you really think he's from another reality?"

"Has to be. There isn't another explanation," he whispered back.

"No talking," snapped one of the guards.

Once in the center chamber they sat on the opposite sides of the table. The guards took up position by the door. Crais chose a chair that would allow his guards a clean shot at the two of them. "Explain what a different reality is."

Crichton gave a quick wormhole rundown. Crais furrowed his brow. "And how do I return to my reality?"

"You have to find a wormhole. Even then it isn't easy."

"Can't we return through the wormhole that brought us here?"

"You could if it were still here. It's not. I don't even know what that one was doing here. It shouldn't have been here."

"You can find wormholes. As soon as Talyn is operational you will locate one," Crais stated.

"It's not that easy," John began.

Aeryn interrupted, "What's wrong with Talyn?"

Crais didn't want to tell someone he wasn't sure he could trust with Talyn's status. "You don't need to know."

"How did he get his name?" She couldn't help but feel her alternate self had somehow been involved.

"Lt. Velorek named him." He didn't have time for her petty line of questioning. He focused his attention on Crichton. "Why isn't it that easy?"

Aeryn whispered quietly, "Velorek." Had she convinced Velorek not to sabotage the project in Crais' reality? Crais' voice had not been full of malice when he had said the tech's name. That had to be the case. How else would Velorek know of the name Talyn? It was too improbable for it to be a coincidence.

"Wormholes are complex. I can't just summon them. They're also dangerous. The Scarrans are after them, and us. Peacekeepers, too, for that matter."

Pilot popped up on the clamshell, "Crichton, another transport is arriving from Talyn."

"Invading us, Crais?" he asked.

The guards shifted uncomfortably at this apparent insubordination.

Crais did not like the familiarity with which this 'Crichton' addressed him. He would have to find out more about this reality. "My maintenance team. They are here to harvest parts to conduct repairs."

John leaned forward in his chair and the guards aimed their weapons at him. "Whoa! You are not going to hurt Moya."

"You say the Scarrans and the Peacekeepers are hunting you. This ship is unarmed. It is in Iyour/I best interest that Talyn be repaired. Besides, I don't see that you can stop us."

Aeryn decided to intervene before John lost his temper. "Captain, Moya has been our home for more than four cycles. We've come to respect Leviathans. I'm sure Moya will be happy to help Talyn. Let us work with your people to ensure that Moya isn't hurt."

Crais was not in the mood to negotiate. "We will take what we need. This Leviathan is inconsequential."

"If you want to get home, you'll do it our way," John said smugly. Crais glared at him. John leaned back in his chair and smiled. "The way I figure it, you can't get home without my help. You hurt Moya, you won't get it."

Crais clenched his jaw. He hated losing. "Senior Officer Sun, you will accompany my maintenance team. Crichton, you will remain here and continue your explanation."

"Sure thing. I just need you to fill me in on your background as well. Why don't you go first? You can start by explaining Talyn."

Aeryn wanted to hear the explanation. Crais saw her loitering by the door. He glared at her, "You have your orders, Sun."

She knew she had no choice. "Yes, sir."

Once Aeryn had gone, Crais tried to convince Crichton to go first. "It might be easier if I knew what your history is. It could save time."

The two of them stared at each other. John really didn't want to go first. He had no idea how Crais would react their first meeting. He decided to give a short version, omitting Tauvo's death and for now the fact that he was human.

Crais listened with interest. He knew that he would have wanted to recapture the escaped prisoners, but to disobey an order from First Command seemed excessive. He couldn't envision throwing away his career for that.

When John finished he said, "Okay, your turn."

"As you can see the gunship project was a success. Talyn is the first of many gunships. They have been instrumental in our successes over the Scarrans."

Crichton sat forward eagerly, "There are more gunships?"

Crais looked annoyed. "I did not interrupt you."

"Sorry." He leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, there is more than one gunship. My command carrier group has a squadron of eight gunships. Most are young and inexperienced." He then went on to explain how the Peacekeepers had used the gunships to preemptively attack the Scarrans before they could muster the forces for their own attack.

"Is that how Aeryn died?" John interrupted.

"Who?"

"Aeryn Sun. Officer Aeryn Sun. You seemed to think she shouldn't be here."

"Senior Officer Sun was killed two monens ago in a test flight of a prototype combat pod that Talyn had grown."

John was shocked to hear this news. He knew that what happened in one reality didn't affect another, but Aeryn dying in any reality bothered him.

D'Argo was pacing his cell. He couldn't believe he was once again a prisoner of the Peacekeepers. "Pilot, open the cell door," he commanded.

"I cannot do that."

"And why not?"

"Moya doesn't wish to upset the Peacekeepers. As soon as they leave, I will release you."

He growled and slammed his fists against the bars.

Chiana stared at him from the cell across the way. "Hey, don't worry. We'll be out of here soon. You heard Pilot. This is only temporary."

"I cannot believe that Aeryn and John agreed to let the Peacekeepers do this."

"So what were we supposed to do? Put up a fight against a dozen armed soldiers? I don't know about you, but I really don't want to die."

Stark was pacing nervously. "This isn't right. They aren't supposed to be here." He clung desperately to the bars of the cell. "What do you suppose they want?"

D'Argo grabbed Stark and shoved him against the bulkhead, "I know I want you to be quiet." He then turned his attention to Rygel who was examining the walls of the cell. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," Rygel chuckled.

Even though she couldn't see him, Chiana knew Rygel well enough to know that was a lie. "Come on, frog face, you're up to something. Do you know a way out of here?"

Rygel smiled at her. He momentarily considered being selfish, but the look D'Argo was giving him made him change his mind. "Possibly, but even if I do, it won't do us much good. What do you think the Peacekeepers would do to us if they saw us out of our cells?"

D'Argo grabbed the front of Rygel's robes, "Then what are you doing, Your Eminence?"

Rygel tried to appear as imperious as always, "If you must know, I'm looking for a way to tap into Moya's sensors so that I can see what the Peacekeepers are doing."

"And?" D'Argo growled.

"I haven't finished yet. It isn't an easy thing to do."

D'Argo shoved Rygel back towards the conduit, "Then work faster."

Aeryn let the guard accompany her to the maintenance bay. She decided to act like he was there because she wanted him to be there. They arrived in the maintenance bay before the second transport arrived. She noticed that the others were not there. Presumably they had been taken to holding cells. She could only hope that D'Argo had maintained his temper. She folded her arms across her chest and waited.

When the doors opened there was a small tech detachment. The fifth tech through the doors stopped dead in his tracks. "Aeryn?"

She couldn't believe her eyes. Velorek was dead. Killed for treason nearly seven cycles ago. "Velorek?"

He dropped his bag and swept her up into his arms. He didn't care who saw them. "I thought you were dead? How did you survive? Why didn't you try to get back to us?"

She fought through her shock and pulled away from him. "What are you doing with Crais?"

He brushed her hair. "Aeryn, are you alright? We've been working on the gunship project for cycles. How could you have forgotten?"

"I didn't forget. You're… I never… We never worked on the gunship project."

Velorek could tell his work team was growing impatient. "We need to get to work harvesting replacement parts. We can talk as we work."

"I won't let you hurt Moya," she said defensively.

"Moya?" Could this really be the same Leviathan? He hadn't seen Moya in cycles, he had been working almost exclusively on Talyn. "I wouldn't dream of hurting Moya. You know that." She must be suffering from some sort of amnesia. "We should work quickly. Talyn's weapons aren't on line and we're defenseless."

He expertly directed his team on where they should go to get what was needed, but to wait for his signal. Aeryn was surprised to see that the techs had brought anesthetic with them.

Aeryn found that he was leading her towards Pilot's den. "Where are we going?"

"I wish to speak with Pilot before we begin harvesting. What did you mean you said we never worked on the gunship project?"

She wasn't sure where to begin. She didn't completely understand what was going on. She stopped and faced him. "You and I never worked on the gunship project. When you were sabotaging the project, I…turned you in," she looked away from his gaze.

He took her shoulders in his hands. "No you didn't. You talked me into changing my mind. Without you the Peacekeepers and the Sebacean race might have been destroyed." By now he was sure that something was not entirely right. He released her and took a step back, the smile melting from his face. "You don't remember anything, do you? Our son?"

Aeryn could feel herself getting choked up. "I'm not your Aeryn. There never was a son. I turned you over to Crais. The gunship project failed. I think John could explain it better than I can, but it has something to do with the wormhole you arrived through."

He was trying to make sense of it all. He didn't understand what she meant by 'not his Aeryn'. "But you know Talyn."

She nodded. "About two cycles after you sabotaged the project, D'Argo broke the shield and Talyn was conceived. Moya gave me the honor of naming him."

He smiled sadly, "At least one thing remained constant. We should get back to work. Captain Crais will want a progress report soon." He wondered who this 'John' was and if he had a chance with this Aeryn. He had seen the emotion in her eyes when she had first seen him.

They walked in silence to the den. Pilot was surprised to see Velorek. "Lt. Velorek! I had not expected to see you."

"It's been a long time Pilot. Talyn is injured and requires Moya's help."

"Of course. Moya will help however she can. She is ready to move into position to give him nutrients."

"I also need some three-kay wire and replacement conduits. We will take them from non-vital areas and Moya will be sedated first."

Aeryn was reminded of how gentle a man he truly was and how hard it had been to turn him in. She had begged him to not sabotage the project. It seems that in his reality she had succeeded.

"Moya understands and will help."

"Thank you Pilot." He keyed his comms, "Maintenance team, this is Lt. Velorek, begin harvesting the parts we need." He then activated a ladder so he could climb down into the neural cluster. Aeryn followed to keep an eye on him. It didn't take him long to notice the change in Pilot's connection. "This isn't the connection I made, this is a natural bond." He looked at Aeryn for an explanation.

She found it so hard to look him in the eyes and broke away from his gaze. "Three cycles ago, Pilot severed the connection and formed a natural bond with Moya."

"This looks more recent than that." He pointed to one of Pilot's tentacles. "This connection can't be more than a few monens old. It is also a very amateurish connection."

"Half a cycle ago, Pilot removed himself from Moya to help us keep the Scarrens at bay."

"He removed…" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pilot's never left the Leviathans after they bonded.

He was prevented from further questioning by his comms. "Lieutenant, report," ordered Crais.

"We've almost finished gathering the parts we need. Moya is being quite cooperative and is conducting a nutrient transfer."

"How much longer?"

"We will return to Talyn within a quarter arn. Repairs to get the weapons on line should take about an arn with power to propulsion in two to three. It will be some time before higher functions can be brought back on line." When there was no response he turned to Aeryn. "A man of few words." He went back to work, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. After several long microts of silence he said, "Will you come to Talyn or will you remain here?"

A part of her wanted to see Talyn, but she knew this was not her Talyn. "My place is here."

He placed the last of the cables in his bag. "I need to return to Talyn. I'll try to return when repairs are complete." He placed his hand on her cheek before walking away. He hoped to talk her into changing her mind.

She watched him leave. Wormholes had made her life very difficult.