Artokh's blood boiled in the cold air
of this unknown planet.
As he ripped the door off of the
escape-pod he felt the freezing wind blow into his face.
He didn't
like it, but Artokh knew that he had to endure it, to survive.
At
first Artokh underestimated the Leviathan that pursued him.
He
tried to lose him as he flew through the asteroid-field of the
Yo'brakh system, but Talyn did not let him go that easily.
As
the first shots were fired Artokh knew that he was going to die.
He
did not fear death, but he refused to die for such a inferior
species.
This John Crichton.
Artokh quickly headed for the
escape-pod.
He tried to take Crichton with him, but there was no
time.
If John Crichton was a hazard to the Scarran Empire, then
his death would mean a victory for the Empire.
He left, leaving
Crichton to die in the explosion.
But he didn't die.
As
he captured Crichton on Moya, he placed a small probe underneath the
human's skin.
This would emit co-ordinates and vital signs to a
device which Artokh now held in his claws, as he walked through the
snow.
The device was broken during the landing onto the planet,
but Artokh was able to fix it partially.
Although it did not emit
the co-ordinates of the human's whereabouts, it did give óne
signal:
a heartbeat.
John Crichton was alive.
And Artokh
intended to find him, in order to complete his mission.
But before he could do that, he needed to contact the Scarran Emperor.
He saw a large structure in front of him, embedded
into the mountainside, entirely made out of ice.
Artokh knew that
he could find whatever he needed there.
A
communications-device.
Crichton's friends...
"They must
know Crichton's whereabouts..."
Inside the structure,
Grunchlik introduced D'Argo, Chiana and Rygel to the
Diagnosian.
The long, bold creature wore a mask and spoke in a
strange manner to them, using mostly his hands to communicate.
"As
you may see, he is not a very social person." Grunchlik
joked.
"That is why I must ask you to tell me all about your
problems..."
D'Argo hesitated.
"And you will tell him?"
he asked.
"Of course I will!" Grunchlik said. "He is the
doctor here, not me!"
"Wait a minute." Chiana interrupted.
"You can speak to him? He can understand you?"
"I can speak
Diagnosian. Can you?"
"No..." Chiana said.
"Then shut
up, you little vixen!" Grunchlik said smiling sarcastically.
D'Argo
almost smiled for a second, but held back.
Rygel didn't care and
laughed out loud.
"I always try to get her to shut up," Rygel
said. "...but she never listens!"
Grunchlik laughed.
His
rotten teeth were visible as he did it.
It almost made Chiana
vomit.
"Now," Grunchlik asked. "...what can I do for
you?"
After they told Grunchlik about their situation,
Grunchlik excused himself again and took the Diagnosian with him to
the hallway, where their new clients couldn't hear their
conversation.
"It's a Leviathan!" Grunchlik told the
Diagnosian.
"I knew this was going to be our lucky day! A Luxan,
a Nebari, a Hynerian,...it all adds up!
They are probably wealthy!
Absolutely rich, if the rumours about that Shadow Depository is true!
They are probably desperate! We could make a fortune here, ripping
them off!
And Crichton could be there as well! Which reminds
me..."
Grunchlik ran off.
FLASH.
Scorpius
slowly walked through the mist of John Crichton's mind.
He took
a great risk entering this unstable mind; it could destabilise any
second, and take Scorpius's mind down with it.
"Can you
hear me?" Scorpius mumbled in the outside world.
The scientists
thought he was talking to Crichton in his mind, but he was wrong.
He
was looking for someone else.
The fog slowly lifted and a huge and
shiny lake stretched out in front of Scorpius's mind.
Earth's
moon reflected in the bright water.
Scorpius walked on a pier. In
the distance he saw the silhouette of a figure, standing at the end
of the pier, looking down at the water.
Scorpius recognised the
figure.
Because it was his own.
"Scorpius I presume."
Harvey said as he turned around. "We meet at last."
"Indeed."
Scorpius said.
A cold wind was blowing through the trees.
"Is
Crichton dying?" Scorpius asked.
"Yes." Harvey answered.
"And so am I.
With my limited resources I have been able to
sustain Crichton's life sign.
But as my power is fading, so is
Crichton's life."
"And so is the wormhole-knowledge he
possesses."
"True."
"Can I extract the chip?"
Scorpius asked.
"Without damaging the contents?" Harvey
asked.
"Of course." Scorpius said.
"No." Harvey said.
"If you try to extract it now, Crichton will die before the
procedure will be finished."
Scorpius looked at the bristling
water of the lake.
Desperate he was looking for another
way.
Another way to get the knowledge he wanted so
badly.
Wormholes.
"How much have you uncovered?" Scorpius
asked.
"Almost everything." Harvey answered. "Some things
are burrowed into his mind too deeply and take too much time and
energy to extract. Energy I cannot afford to lose."
Scorpius
stared into the distance.
FLASH.
Scorpius severed his
mindlink to Crichton and ended the process.
He got what he wanted
to know.
But he didn't know that Harvey was lying.
