Dream a Little Dream - Episode 201
Zhaan, still wracked by guilt-ridden nightmares, relates
to Crichton what happened to them after they starbursted away from the
burning Gammak Base, abandoning Crichton, Aeryn and D'Argo to an unknown
fate. Unwilling to accept that their friends may have lost their lives,
Zhaan, Chiana and Rygel had scoured nearby planets, hoping to find some
sign that they survived. But their spirits were plunging when they found
themselves on Litigara, a sophisticated planet whose population was almost
entirely composed of lawyers.
Conspicuous among the locals, Zhaan, Chiana and D'Argo came to the attention of a scheming lawyer named Finzzi, who was intent upon using Zhaan for her own purposes. Thanks to a set-up master minded by Finzzi and her influential boss Ja Rhumann, Zhaan was jailed, and faced a ten-day stretch for jaywalking. This was a major complication for our people given that Pilot was finding it increasingly difficult to control Moya who was eager to return to the asteroid field to resume her search for her offspring Talyn. At any moment she could've fled, stranding Zhaan and the others on Litigara for good. While Chiana tried to pressure the lawyer assigned to Zhaan for a cut in her sentence, Zhaan's mind started to turn in on itself, wracked by painful and guilt ridden hallucinations of Crichton, Aeryn and D'Argo.
Meanwhile, Finzzi was continuing to follow her agenda, approaching Zhaan and offering her the chance to escape. Again, this proved to be a set-up, but this time Zhaan was framed for murder! When Zhaan offered a plea of not guilty, her lawyer instantly dismissed himself from the case, knowing that under Litigaran law he could end up receiving the same sentence as his client if the plea is ultimately judged to be false. Chiana and Rygel made the horrible realization that Zhaan had only one chance to survive: they had to defend her themselves, and they cannot lie!
While Pilot continued trying to stop Moya from fleeing,
Chiana and Rygel immersed themselves in the complexities of Litigaran law.
As they began to build a case, the intrigues of Litigaran society come
to the fore. The man Zhaan was accused of killing was a leading light of
the Utilities, (the ten percent of Litigara who are not lawyers), an underclass
struggling for greater rights whose activities make them ripe for repression.
Finzzi, in league with her boss Ja Rhumann, the leader of the ruling law
firm, had used Zhaan as the fall-guy in a plot to further erode the power
of the Utilities. The problem for Rygel and Chiana was that there seemed
to be no way to prove it. As the two would-be defense lawyers discovered
more about the plot, Zhaan retreated further into her nightmares. As the
trial swung into action, no one was confident and there was an ominous
feeling that the only one of our crew who'd end up free to join Moya in
her search for Talyn would be Pilot.
Mind the Baby - Episode 202
Crichton, Aeryn and D'Argo, seemingly left for dead when
Moya StarBursted away after the destruction of the Peacekeeper Gammak Base,
have found shelter on a deserted industrial complex within an asteroid
field. D'Argo has been seriously affected by deep space interna-thermia,
and is only now stirring after days of unconsciousness. Their survival
would have been impossible if it weren't for help from an unusual quarter:
Crais.
In desperation, Aeryn has struck a deal with the disgraced Captain. In return for helping to save Crichton and D'Argo's life, Aeryn has agreed to help Crais take control of Talyn. Aeryn's only hope for changing this plan is that Moya will eventually turn up and be able to wrest control of the Leviathan away from Crais. Meanwhile, Moya is indeed returning to the asteroid field to try and find Talyn, despite the ever-present danger of running into Scorpius. This danger is even more pressing as Scorpius has changed tactics. To force Crichton into the open he needs to capture his shipmates aboard Moya but to find Moya he needs Talyn!
After D'Argo's revival, Aeryn is forced to come clean
about her deal with Crais. She tries to convince Crichton and D'Argo that
Crais has changed, but Aeryn could not be farther from the truth. Crais
is not running from Scorpius, he is in league with him - bargaining for
his freedom and Talyn in return for Crichton! Unhappy with the deal Aeryn
has made, Crichton and D'Argo decide to take action. After knocking Aeryn
out, Crichton goes to Talyn and takes Crais hostage. What Crichton does
not realize, however, is the strength of the bond that has already formed
between Crais and Talyn. As they leave, the young Leviathan emits a wail
of anguish. In one way this actually helps Crichton - the biomechanoid's
distress call brings Moya running, allowing Crichton to be reunited with
the others. On the other hand it also lets Scorpius know that there may
be a chance of he has ever known.
Vitas Mortis - Episode 203
Having heard of the existence of another Luxan, D'Argo
leads Crichton and Zhaan to a cold and forbidding planet where they do
indeed find another of his species. But the discovery is not quite what
they expected. The Luxan they find, Nilaam, is an extremely old Orican
- one of a rare group of revered Luxan holy women, and she is dying - something
she cannot do properly without the help of another Luxan.
Having initially rejected D'Argo as being not worthy to help her die, our Luxan proves to Nilaam that he does indeed have the necessary spiritual and emotional strength. He is given permission to help the old woman pass to the next realm - a great honor in Luxan culture, but also potentially fatal for both parties. Perhaps even more fatal in this instance because Crichton feels distinctly unnerved by the old woman. Undaunted, D'Argo leaps into the ritual, ready to take part no matter what the outcome. All goes as it should till midway through the ritual Nilaam senses that D'Argo has more strength than she expected. Deciding to take advantage of this, Nilaam abruptly changes the ritual from one of death to one of renewal. When the exhausting ritual is finally complete D'Argo is confronted not with Nilaam's dead body as he expected, but with the most beautiful young Luxan he has ever seen!
However, as this miraculous transformation takes place, problems are emerging on Moya. Chiana, who's been washing some clothes in Moya's amnexus fluid, is suddenly trapped when the fluid freezes up around her, and Pilot can find no reason for the malfunction. Meanwhile, D'Argo is getting to know the young Nilaam who's reveling in the vitality of her new body. Indeed, virtually no time elapses before the two Luxans find themselves in bed together where, after making love, D'Argo learns of Nilaam's plans for the future. They are music to his ears. Nilaam's newly regained power can apparently make the impossible possible. With her help, D'Argo may even have the chance to return to his home world and be reunited with his son.
The only shadow looming over this Luxan union is the growing
problem with Moya. Chiana is still unable to escape the frozen fluid when
Pilot reports that Moya's outer hull is deteriorating. Soon after her inner
hull also begins to weaken, and before anyone has time to think, a breach
rips through one of Moya's walls, trapping Rygel in a fissure that leads
directly to open space! When Nilaam comes to Moya to help repair the damage
it becomes clear that she is in some way connected to the ship's problems.
Her ritual of renewal tapped not into D'Argo's life force, but Moya's,
resulting in hugely accelerated aging. When he realizes what's happening,
D'Argo has to confront the fact that both Moya and Pilot are headed towards
certain death, and there seems to be no way of avoiding their demise while
his new young Luxan friend holds on to the life she should not have - the
life of Moya.
Taking the Stone - Episode 204
When the life disc that joined Chiana and her brother,
Nerri, extinguishes, she knows he is dead. Distraught, she blasts down
to a royal cemetery planet and joins a group of nihilistic young aliens
living below the planet's surface. Crichton, Aeryn and Rygel fly
down to the planet to try to talk Chiana into coming back to Moya. But
she isn't interested. Chiana has been having a ball playing death-defying
games with her newfound friends. The most terrifying of these rituals involves
jumping off a cliff into a 300-foot chasm, your fall cushioned only by
sound waves that are created by shouting as you descend. If you don't shout
correctly, you die, as Crichton and Aeryn soon find out when Das, a young
male, takes a fatal leap known locally as "taking the stone". Chiana
decides that she wants to jump. She has been rocked by the death of her
brother who was her hero and her friend. She is attracted to jumping by
the freedom that comes from facing death and surviving but also because
she needs to scare herself, to determine her own limits now that Nerri
is gone.
In this subterranean habitat, life expectancy is seriously reduced. Rather than die a slow horrible death, clanspeople within this society choose to push themselves to the limit. "Die young, leave a good looking corpse" is very much the motto. Crichton suspects that Chiana is being talked into jumping by Molnon, the charismatic leader of this very youthful group of aliens. Crichton can't understand why Chiana wants to jump. He even goes to the extreme of drugging her and trying to kidnap her. But, as Aeryn explains to him, there is nothing he can do; Chiana needs to work it out on her own and Crichton needs to let her.
Crichton discovers that radiation in the caves is the cause of the diminished lifespans among these people. He confronts Molnon and forces the gathered clans to vote on whether they want to return to the surface where they can live longer. But they vote to stay, they don't want to get old, they prefer their adrenaline fuelled life underground.
Despite Crichton's attempts to talk her out of it and
drag her away, Chiana is determined to jump. So she takes the leap... and
survives. Chiana buries her life disc and returns to Moya ready to
come to terms with the loss of her brother.
Crackers Don't Matter - Episode 205
Our crew returns from a Commerce Planet with a small,
blind alien, Traltixx, and a cargo load of dried crackers. A skeptical
Crichton thinks Traltixx's offer to make Moya undetectable by Peacekeepers
is fraudulent, but changes his mind when his Module becomes invisible before
their eyes.
Traltixx promises he can alter Moya to make her untraceable, but they must go to his transformation yards. Pilot is suspicious of their guest, but with Scorpius' Wanted Beacons spread throughout the area, Crichton convinces him to follow Traltixx's directions through Five Pulsar lights to the planet. Traltixx warns that, as they travel, the light from these pulsars can have an adverse effect on 'lesser species'.
Although no one believes they would be affected, an intense paranoia grips the crew as they pass through the pulsars. Each one is convinced that their fellow shipmates are conspiring against them. Squabbles over the meager crackers soon escalate into aggressive arguments about each other's position on the ship. D'Argo brutally force-feeds Rygel and Crichton opens fire, first on D'Argo and then on Aeryn who barricades herself away from the crew. Only Zhaan is happy, as she is photogasming on the light energy.
Traltixx, who is not as meek and harmless as he first appeared, is watching our crew unravel. He commandeers the Sluice Chamber and rejigs Moya's wiring to create a luminescent environment, giving him energy and strength. Even Pilot is affected and Traltixx convinces him to rewire Moya to his specifications and enhance the energy of the Sluice Chamber. As the Chamber starts to glow, the whole ship begins to light up. The crew is so busy fighting each other they don't realize what is happening to Moya.
Crichton watching the crew cracking up, overpowers his near deranged friends and chains them up in the Centre Chamber. Battling his paranoid delusions and violent tendencies, he explains that it's not the pulsars that are making them crazy, it is Traltixx. Crichton notes that Pilot, deep in his Den, is also affected even though he can't see the light.
Needing all their control to band together and not kill
each other, the crew plans to overthrow Traltixx. As the light affects
the optic nerve, Crichton, with the worst eyesight of all the crew, must
take him on in a battle to the death.
Picture If You Will - Episode 206
After visiting a passing Trader's ship, Chiana and Rygel
return to Moya, pleased with themselves; not only has Rygel found a bargain-priced
Hynerian tiara, but Chiana's been given a gift of a picture which changes
its image. The trader Kyvan calls it 'a window into time' and says it will
depict the future. Chiana shows off her new portrait, and even when it
foretells her breaking her leg, she can't be convinced to part with it.
Zhaan's not so certain the portrait is a benign 'crystal ball' and pleads with Chiana to allow her to test its properties. When the portrait again changes to show Chiana being burnt to death, they rush her to the safety of the freezer but to everyone's horror, she bursts into flames while locked inside. Still coming to terms with the loss of their crewmate, they decide to destroy the picture, flushing it out an airlock. To their horror, the picture miraculously re-appears, this time depicting D'Argo. When D'Argo also meets an unusual end, dispersing into particles in front of Crichton's very eyes, Zhaan becomes suspicion of the picture's origins.
We learn that D'Argo and Chiana have not been killed, but instead are inside the realm of the portrait. Aeryn, with the stowaway Rygel, finds a quaking Kyvan who offers little resistance to the angry Peacekeeper. Kyvan quickly reveals that the evil sorcerer Maldis is behind these gruesome events. This confirms Zhaan's suspicions, and she warns Crichton that he may be called upon to trust her implicitly at a crucial moment. In order to save her friends, she pushes Crichton into an electrical circuit and thus into Maldis' realm. Zhaan knows she's next - it is she who must face the furious sorcerer whom she powerfully dispersed when he pitted Crichton against Crais in 'That Old Black Magic' (episode 108). Maldis is trying to re-corporealise and needs to feed on the fears of Crichton, D'Argo, Chiana, and especially Zhaan. As their life-force is sapped, Maldis grows stronger, relishing the chance to watch Zhaan crumble in front of him. A gateway between the portrait and the Maintenance Bay opens up, giving Maldis the chance to finally re-corporealise.
Seeing the exitway materialize, Pilot follows Zhaan's
orders and contacts Aeryn, who, without a moment's hesitation, kills Kyvan.
As she and Rygel hightail it back to Moya on the Module, they watch Kyvan's
ship particalise and disappear, revealing it to be part of the portrait
material. This blow stuns and enrages Maldis, as he heads for the shrinking
gateway. But with Maldis' power dissipated, Crichton, Zhaan, D'Argo and
Chiana manage to make their way out of the painting. Crichton finally dispatches
Maldis with a blast from the Prowler before he can clamber into the material
realm.
The Way We Weren't - Episode 207
Chiana's discovery of a 'datacam' tape showing the murder
of a previous Pilot aboard Moya is a shock to Crichton and the crew, especially
as Aeryn is clearly shown to be one of the Peacekeepers in the firing squad.
When presented with the datacam, Aeryn admits her role, but puts up a defensive
wall, not wanting to revisit her Peacekeeper past.
The crew finds the knowledge difficult to come to terms with, but Crichton urges Aeryn to open up. She tells him of her time on transport detail, and of Velorek, the man in charge of their sensitive mission to bond a new, more compliant Pilot to Moya. Although a talented expert on Pilots and Leviathans, Velorek was also an iconoclast - a trait that brought him into conflict with the megalomaniac Captain Crais. Aeryn also reveals that she and Velorek were intimately involved, but as Crichton listens to Aeryn peel back the emotional layers of her past, they are interrupted by Pilot. Pilot, overwrought and furious after seeing the datacam, refuses to listen to a conciliatory Aeryn - he lashes out and tries to kill her!
Pilot also has painful memories of the past, and when they're recalled, the flood of anguish and anger threaten to overwhelm him. Pilot recalls arriving on Moya, a young and nervous pilot, and being forcibly bonded with this Leviathan while she was still in her Peacekeeper control collar. Pilot makes a decision - Moya will go no further while Aeryn remains on board, and Aeryn concedes that her departure is the only solution. Pilot, moribund and lost in his own thoughts, is remembering the sheer terror of his initial contact with the ship - the agony and confusion of her senses and how Moya fought him all the way. Pilot mutilates himself to break physical contact with Moya, convinced that he has no right to be Moya's Pilot. The Leviathan is now rudderless and losing power, and Crichton and the crew are marooned.
Aeryn and Crichton head to Pilot's Den for a showdown. Crichton knows there is more to the story, and eventually Aeryn reveals her role in Moya's situation. Aeryn felt more deeply for Velorek than she had for any other man. Yet Aeryn, with her highly regimented Peacekeeper upbringing, was shocked by Velorek's treasonous ideas to undermine Crais' Secret Project. Although it cut her to the quick, she betrayed Velorek to Crais. In return she was rewarded with Prowler Detail. To face the consequences of her actions is very difficult for Aeryn, but it is the only way to move forward, and she must help Pilot to do the same. She and Crichton fight their way through Pilot's defensive positioning to stand in front of him unarmed. Pilot faces his own demons. Seduced by Velorek's offer to bond him with a Leviathan, Pilot made a pact that effectively signed the previous pilot's death warrant. Moya did not choose Pilot, and Pilot feels unworthy of his honorable position. Aeryn reaches out to Pilot, and relieved of his emotional burden, he accepts her hand in peace.
As Moya again is in contact with her navigator, the crew's
friendship is stabilized and Crichton has gained insight into Aeryn's difficult
life as a Peacekeeper. Together they all move forward, and Pilot is able
to forge a new, strong and natural bond with his beloved Moya.
Home on the Remains - Episode 208
Nearing starvation, the crew head for a mining colony
located on a giant rotting Budong carcass. Despite not having left the
colony in the best of circumstances, Chiana assures them, her old friends
will help them with their predicament. Zhaan is the worst affected: her
body instinctively responds to starvation by sprouting buds of toxic pollen
that protect her from predators when she is weakened by hunger. So while
Crichton, D'Argo, Rygel and Chiana head for the mining camp; Aeryn, the
least affected by the toxic pollen, stays on Moya with Zhaan.
Chiana's hopes rest on finding Temmon, an old boyfriend. But when they do find him, the Keedva, a fierce creature that inhabits the tunnels of the mine, has fatally wounded him. Chiana turns her attention to B'Sogg, Temmon's older brother, who is a much tougher customer. He runs the camp like a fiefdom and controls access to the mine as well as the meat supplies. Chiana suspects he may have had something to do with Temmon's death, but at this point the crew needs help, wherever it may come from. B'Sogg offers them a meal of fungi and molds, making it clear this is the only handout they will get.
Crichton takes supplies back to Moya, but the vegetable matter is no help to Zhaan. The toxins have reached a dangerous level in her body and she must eat meat to survive. The situation worsens as the pollen-saturated atmosphere starts affecting Moya's neural conduits, dulling her senses. Aeryn must get Zhaan off Moya -- but Zhaan has disappeared.
Back in the camp, B'Sogg explains to Crichton that crystals are the only currency; if they want meat for Zhaan, they'll have to work the mines. But following the attack on Temmon, B'Sogg has closed the mines. Chiana works on B'Sogg, offering herself in return for his help. D'Argo is confused by Chiana's seductive methods; D'Argo's jealousy hints at his growing attraction to Chiana. Rygel tries his hand at the gambling tables but loses badly to the resident hustlers and is forced to enter the closed mines to repay his debts. D'Argo also enters the tunnels to help Altana, an old friend of Chiana's, mine a rich vein of crystals she has found. As they work, Altana gives D'Argo some advice: Chiana may give freely of her body but not of her heart; D'Argo must be sure he's up to the challenge.
When Crichton goes looking for D'Argo in the closed mines, he stumbles across Rygel. They narrowly avoid a Keedva attack. But when the Keedva discovers Altana and D'Argo, they are not as lucky; the Keedva knocks D'Argo out and kills Altana. When D'Argo drags her body from the mine, B'Sogg vows to hunt the monster.
On Moya, Aeryn and Pilot search unsuccessfully for Zhaan. The level of toxin has become poisonous for Moya, and the only way to flush the pollen is to decompress the ship -- an action that will likely kill the still-at-large-Zhaan.
Suspecting B'Sogg is going to steal Altana's crystals,
Crichton follows him into the mines. Ambushing Crichton, B'Sogg reveals
that he has trained the Keedva to terrorize the miners so B'Sogg can run
the camp and control the crystals. B'Sogg leaves a defenseless Crichton
to battle the vicious Keedva.
Out Of Their Minds - Episode 209
It's all hands on deck when a Halosian ship targets Moya.
With the Defense Screen under repairs, the blast rocks Moya and throws
the energy around the ship. The crew recovers to find that they are alive,
but have all swapped minds.
Confusion reigns in the Command as Crichton finds himself in Aeryn's body, Aeryn's mind is inside Rygel's body, and Rygel's mind is inside Crichton's body. The situation is worse in Pilot's Den: D'Argo's mind is inside Pilot's body, Chiana's mind is in D'Argo's body, and Pilot has shifted into Chiana's body and is under great strain.
Zhaan, still herself, goes on a diplomatic mission to the bird-like Halosians, but 'Lord' Tak is bent on revenge. He shows her a replay of Talyn attacking Halos-1. Zhaan tries to convince him Leviathans are peaceful, and Tak agrees to visit Moya to see that they carry no weapons. The crew, dealing with the bizarre sensations of living in new bodies, prepares for the visit. D'Argo is struggling to manage Moya's multi-tasking and Chiana's body starts to reject Pilot. Rygel (in Crichton's body) greets Tak and takes him on a tour through Moya.
Back on Halos-1, with his 'Lord' away, Yoz talks to Zhaan and reveals that Talyn did not attack first. He was defending himself against the hostile Halosians. Halosian society has a merciless code: they must kill or be killed. Tak is determined to defeat the Leviathan to evolve into a more powerful state.
While inspecting Moya, Tak becomes ill, vomiting in the Neural Cluster. Rygel-in-Crichton's body is unaware that the seemingly innocent goo is leaving a destructive trail as it worms its way through the innards of the great ship. Moya's systems begin to fail. She sends out a terror pulse that D'Argo struggles to interpret. Back on Halos-1, Tak gloats about his plans to blast Moya again. Zhaan is desperate to save her friends. Everyone is working to neutralize the acid, but the Halosians fire again and the blast hits Moya just as the Defense Screen is re-forming. The crew recovers -- only to find they have again swapped minds! Crichton's body is now occupied by Aeryn's mind, Crichton's mind is in Rygel's body, and Rygel's mind is in Aeryn's body. Chiana's mind has moved to Pilot's body, and D'Argo's mind to Chiana's body. D'Argo's body, now unable to cope with the stress of containing Pilot's mind, has collapsed.
Tak, determined to destroy Moya, decides to ram the ship. But Yoz, urged to mutiny by Zhaan, attacks his 'Lord' and kills him. Zhaan's hopes of peace from the new leader are dashed when Yoz continues to aim at Moya with suicidal determination. Zhaan summons all her Delvian strength and painfully slips from her shackles to overpower Yoz.
With collision narrowly avoided, Crichton tells Zhaan
to fire again as they re-power the Defense Screen. Zhaan reluctantly does
as asked and she pulls the trigger as the crew struggle to find their original
positions, all hoping that this next leap will put their minds back in
their proper bodies.
My Three Crichtons - Episode 212
An automated research vessel from another dimension is
activated when it senses a new life form to capture and study: the human,
John Crichton. A sphere of energy enters Moya, passing effortlessly
through solid matter. Finding Crichton, the sphere envelops him and attempts
to carry him off. Aeryn, in desperation, fires upon the sphere, damaging
it to the point where it imbeds itself in the floor of the Maintenance
Bay - and "spits out" a weak, confused Crichton.
A moment later, however, the sphere expels another creature - a strange ape-like being. This "ape" can barely speak, but manages to communicate that he believes he is John Crichton.
Zhaan confirms that Crichton and the ape have virtually identical DNA. The sphere becomes active again and spits out a man with smooth skin and an enlarged cranium. The new arrival also claims to be John Crichton and quickly demonstrates that he has all of Crichton's memories. Somehow the sphere has produced two replications of Crichton: a devolved "caveman Crichton" and a super-evolved "future Crichton". Future-Crichton hypothesizes that the sphere is an automated research vessel from another dimension, sent to collect unfamiliar life forms and study their evolution by "cloning" them with slight genetic alterations.
As Chiana calms and befriends the confused and frightened caveman-Crichton, an alarmed Pilot informs us that the sphere is endangering Moya by attempting to pull her through an interdimensional portal. Crichton and Future-Crichton join forces to prevent this, but the sphere can neither be extricated nor deactivated. An attempt to communicate with the sphere produces only an automated response: the sphere will not let go of Moya and return to its own dimension unless one of its "samples" - that is, one of the Crichtons - comes back with it. Future-Crichton calmly suggests that caveman-Crichton is the most logical choice... and Crichton, as much as he dislikes the notion, has little else to suggest.
Chiana, however, will not allow caveman-Crichton to be sacrificed, even to save all their lives. Taking matters into her own hands, she releases caveman-Crichton and tells him to hide deep within Moya.
With Moya about to be dragged through the interdimensional
portal, Crichton and future-Crichton must decide which of them should sacrifice
himself - and future-Crichton isn't willing to flip a coin; seeing himself
as superior to the original Crichton, future-Crichton intends to force
Crichton into the sphere.
Look At The Princess - Part I: A Kiss Is But A Kiss - Episode 210
When automated Peacekeeper defense weapons target Moya,
our crew thinks their days of freedom are over. In reality, however, they
have stumbled across one of the fabled 'Breakaway Colonies': a powerful
kingdom established by Sebaceans who long ago left Peacekeeper control.
The Breakaway Colonies now act as a buffer between the Peacekeepers and
the Scarrans, helping to maintain a tenuous peace between these bitter
rivals.
Our crew has arrived at this Royal Planet during coronation time, and the Royal House is in despair. The coronation is two solar days away, and the heir apparent, Princess Katralla, has yet to find a DNA-compatible mate - thanks to the treachery of her scheming younger brother, Clavor, and a determined Scarran, Cargn. With Katralla unable to wed, Clavor stands to inherit the throne and give up the kingdom's neutrality in favor of an alliance with the Scarrans. A devastating interstellar conflict seems imminent when Crichton arrives and miraculously is found to be compatible with Katralla. He is promptly placed into protective custody and strongly encouraged to marry the princess.
Meanwhile, Moya has detected the arrival of Scorpius' Command Carrier. Pilot and Zhaan attempt to draw Scorpius away from the Royal Planet - and Crichton - by StarBursting away, but the ruse fails when Scorpius doesn't follow. However, Moya refuses to return to the Royal Planet; she is following a mysterious and compelling signal. It's a summons - leading her to the realm of the Builders. Her creators. Her Gods.
On the Royal Planet, Crichton finds that the only way he can escape being handed over to Scorpius is to go ahead with the union. Realizing that she may be about to lose Crichton, Aeryn must confront her true feelings for the human - yet she cannot bring herself to express her feelings to Crichton. Feeling he has no other choice, Crichton consents to marry Princess Katralla.
One last shock awaits Crichton when he learns how continuity
of government is maintained in the Breakaway Colonies: after their marriage,
he and Katralla will be turned into statues. Frozen into a metallic suspended
animation, they will nevertheless still be able to see and hear, and will
learn to govern by silently observing the workings of the Royal Court -
for the next eighty cycles! To be continued?
Look At The Princess - Part II: I Do, I Think - Episode 221
To escape capture by Scorpius, Crichton has reluctantly
agreed to marry Princess Katralla. As a result, however, his life is in
danger from Clavor (Katralla's scheming brother) and Cargn (a Scarran emissary).
Rescued from one attempt on his life by Clavor's fiancée Jenavian Charto (who is in reality a Peacekeeper operative, assigned to make sure that Clavor never takes the throne), Crichton and the rest of Moya are desperate to increase his protection. In consultation with the Royal household, it is decided that Crichton will hide out in an orbiting Transport belonging to the race of the Royals' faithful retainer, ro-Na (a Jakench female).
But ro-Na is not as faithful as she seems. With promises of wealth, she has consented to help Scorpius catch his quarry.
Meanwhile, Zhaan learns the true reason behind Moya's journey to the Builders. Seeing that Moya has given birth to a gunship, her "deity" Kahaynu deems it necessary for the ship to be "decommissioned". No Leviathan can be allowed to have the ability to produce violent offspring. It is time for Moya to die, says Kahaynu - and despite Zhaan's protests, Moya obediently begins shutting herself down.
Aeryn, unable to deal with the emotional ramifications of losing Crichton, undertakes an impetuous journey into the Royal Planet's Barren Lands with an importuning young suitor, Dregon. While rock-climbing together, Dregon panics - causing them both to fall and injure themselves with little hope of rescue.
Orbiting high above the Royal Planet, Crichton thinks he is finally safe aboard the Jakench transport - but Crichton then finds himself facing the pulse pistol of Scorpius's accomplice Lt. Braca. He has walked straight into a trap. With nothing to lose, Crichton manages literally to "jump ship" and escape back to the Royal Planet.
Friends, conspirators, and enemies alike watch as Crichton
and Katralla are wed, and promptly turned into statues - their future for
the next eighty cycles. To be continued?
Look At The Princess - Part III: The Maltese Crichton - Episode 211
Moya is far away and nearing death, Aeryn is injured
and lost in the Barren Lands, and the living statues of Crichton and Katralla
stand side by side in the Royal Court. Clavor and Cargn are still intent
on ensuring Clavor's rule - and to achieve this, Crichton must die. Cargn
slices off the head of the Crichton statue and throws it into a vat of
acid - but Jenavian, the undercover Peacekeeper operative, comes to Crichton's
rescue. Returning Crichton to normal, she disappears with him into the
Barren Lands.
Unfortunately, Crichton's disappearance has put D'Argo, Rygel, and Chiana in danger. Empress Novia, desperate to prevent Clavor from taking the throne, threatens every offworlder on the Royal Planet with execution unless Crichton is found.
Zhaan, meanwhile, enraged by Kahaynu's callous treatment of Moya, attempts to challenge his omnipotence - and fails. Moya, temporarily given the power of speech by Kahaynu, tells Zhaan that she is content to obey Kahaynu's command - and die.
D'Argo and Scorpius form an uneasy alliance to find Crichton,
while Clavor - convinced he will be ruler anyway - reneges on his deal
with Cargn. Cargn responds by killing Clavor and then kidnapping Chiana,
convinced that she knows where Crichton might be. Crichton must act fast
if he is to save Chiana - but must also evade the clutches of both Cargn
and Scorpius.
Beware Of Dog - Episode 213
Chiana returns from a Commerce Planet with a cute little
creature called a Vorc that is said to be capable of hunting down parasites
which may have inadvertently come on board with the crew's supplies. Aeryn
thinks Chiana was swindled; the Vorc appears too scatterbrained and unimposing
to hunt parasites even if Moya had parasites - and Aeryn doubts Moya does.
But Crichton soon encounters a hostile beast eating its way through one of Moya's walls. However, when he tells the others about the sighting, they are reluctant to believe him. Crichton is having an increasingly difficult time coping with more and more frequent flashes of Scorpius. Who knows what else he's hallucinating?
When D'Argo is attacked by the same hostile beast, everyone realizes that something dangerous and poisonous is on board. This parasite must be caught alive because its toxins are slowly but surely killing D'Argo - and Zhaan can't make an antivenin without a fresh sample of the poison.
The hunt begins. With the Vorc guiding them, Crichton and Aeryn stalk through the corridors, Crichton fighting off Scorpius flashes all the way. It's then that they discover that the Vorc and the "parasite" beast are one and the same - when the Vorc goes into attack mode and morphs into the beast Crichton and D'Argo saw.
But capturing the Vorc does nothing to help D'Argo. Zhaan is surprised to discover that the Vorc contains no trace of the toxins that are killing the Luxan. Could there indeed be some other creature aboard Moya?
To find out, Crichton and Aeryn release the Vorc - which promptly races off, turns into its beastly form, and attacks Rygel! Angry at having misplaced their trust in the Vorc, Crichton and Aeryn track it down in a Cargo Bay, fatally wounding the creature with pulse-pistol fire.
But was their trust misplaced? A search of the area reveals
a strange alien cocoon containing - Rygel. Crichton and Aeryn realize that
the Vorc was leading them to the cocoon to warn them: the injured "Rygel"
that Zhaan is tending to is the real parasite - and is about to attack
Zhaan!
Won't Get Fooled Again - Episode 214
John Crichton's Farscape One module is launched from
the space shuttle, but runs into an electromagnetic wave. However, instead
of being pulled into a wormhole as in the Premiere, Crichton blacks out
- and wakes up in a hospital bed on Earth with his father Jack standing
over him.
Jack expresses relief that Crichton managed to crash-land the Farscape module and survive. But Crichton doesn't believe he's actually back on Earth. Earlier (in A Human Reaction), an alien species put Crichton into a false Earth setting to get information from him, and Crichton assumes this is more of the same. When he attacks his father to see if Jack is indeed an alien in disguise, orderlies restrain Crichton - and a Doctor Bettina Fairchild, who looks exactly like Aeryn, gives Crichton a tranquilizer shot.
Crichton regains consciousness in restraints, and realizes he won't get free unless he plays along. He apologizes to Dr. Fairchild for his behavior, claims he mistook her for an old girlfriend "Erin", and says he's feeling better. Crichton is allowed to meet up with "Jack" in the hospital's waiting room and is joined by Crichton's friend DK. Jack and DK are glad Crichton's on his feet, but are worried that Crichton won't be released from the hospital without a psychological evaluation. Crichton doesn't believe for a moment that either Jack or DK are the genuine article, but doesn't let on that he isn't being fooled again.
Crichton's psychiatric appointment is with a Dr. Jean Kaminsky - who proves to be Zhaan in all her Delvian blue-ness, but wearing Earth wardrobe and claiming no knowledge of Delvians, Moya, etc. Now Crichton is truly thrown for a loop: if someone's actually trying to fool him into thinking he never left Earth, they've apparently blown it big time. Crichton might have accepted "Aeryn's" presence by reasoning that he glimpsed her as she was treating him after the crash, and his fevered imagination created a fictional Aeryn in his mind. But no explanation can cover a bald, blue-skinned psychiatrist.
Crichton is further disoriented upon meeting Gary Ragle, a cocky, loud-dressing astronaut who has D'Argo's face and tentacles. When the boisterous Ragle invites his colleague Crichton out for a beer, Crichton accepts. In the bar, Crichton theorizes aloud that he's a specimen under some alien's microscope, and all this insanity is merely an experiment to see how he'll react. Well, he'll show them - he simply won't react. But this resolve is tested when Crichton notices that the bar's jazz trio includes Scorpius on drums - and Pilot on keyboards.
Crichton's bewilderment increases when Crichton is brought before IASA's new Project Administrator, Doug Logan - and it's a cigar-smoking, wheelchair-bound Rygel in an Armani suit. Crichton remains convinced that none of this is real, but is disturbed that he can't figure out who's behind it - or what they hope to achieve with this elaborate charade. And when Crichton's mother - who died five years ago - shows up to both comfort and guilt-trip Crichton, he can't help being deeply emotionally affected.
Surrealism escalates as Crais appears as a uniformed cop and Chiana shows up as an "astronaut groupie." Crichton even discovers that smashing Ragle's convertible into an oncoming truck at high speed is no escape - he merely reawakens in the hospital with "Dr. Fairchild" telling him he was very lucky.
The increasingly bizarre events are taking their toll on Crichton's sanity. When a second Scorpius turns up - not in Earth garb, not playing an Earthly role, and not using another name - Crichton assumes that this is all Scorpius's doing. However, Scorpius denies this, explaining that he's a mental clone created by a neural chip that was implanted months earlier in Crichton's brain by the real Scorpius to locate and unlock the wormhole knowledge Crichton possesses.
The Scorpius mental clone tells Crichton that this extended Earth hallucination is the work of a Scarran interrogator - and it's not designed to fool him, it's intended to drive him insane. That's the standard Scarran interrogation method: induced insanity to break down all mental defenses. The Scarrans, after the events of the Look at the Princess trilogy, know that Scorpius is interested in John Crichton, and wish to find out why. The Scorpius mental clone claims it's attempting to protect Crichton from the Scarran - and warns Crichton that the Scarran's next psychological assault must not succeed.
Crichton is unsure whether to believe the Scorpius mental clone, but fights to maintain his sanity under a relentless barrage of absurd and insane bizarre experiences - attempted seductions by Zhaan, Chiana, Aeryn, and even D'Argo; a suicide attempt by DK; Crais, the cop, wearing red high heels while arresting Crichton; a whipping by a leather-clad Rygel; his mother in a negligee inquiring about the "Oedipus Complex"...
And if all this doesn't push Crichton's mind over the
edge, he'll then have to face the equally tough problem of how to escape
from his Scarran interrogator...
The Locket - Episode 215
Having lost contact with Aeryn while she was out scouting
a strange mist, the crew becomes alarmed when her Transport Pod returns
to reveal - Aeryn is now a frail old lady. A seemingly coherent albeit
physically aged Aeryn insists she's lived 160 cycles since leaving Moya.
She had a husband and sons who have died and a granddaughter she dearly
loves. She has only returned to warn the others that they are the ones
caught in time - and that Moya must get out of the mist before becoming
trapped forever.
Not knowing what to make of her story, the crew bides for time - but Aeryn escapes back to her Transport Pod and flies back down to the planet. Crichton follows her, locates her on the surface of this barren and windswept planet, and attempts to wrestle her back into the Transport Pod - only to be confronted by a gun-toting Sebacean: Aeryn's granddaughter, Ennixx. Apparently Aeryn's story was true after all: Aeryn has aged normally, and it is Moya who is stuck in time. Aeryn urges Crichton to go back to Moya immediately; the mist only clears enough to permit ships to enter or leave once every fifty cycles; if Crichton misses this "window", he'll be trapped on the planet for half a century. Crichton reluctantly leaves Aeryn with Ennixx - but as he attempts to fly through the quickly closing mist, he loses transmission with Moya. Suddenly the mist is gone... and so is Moya!
Back on Moya, Stark and Zhaan agree that time feels 'out of sync' to them; using their powerful spiritual energies to link their minds, they touch the Time Continuum. They discover that Moya is caught in a 'Center Halo' - a place where time does not exist.
On the planet, years have passed. Aeryn has managed to adapt to their new, quiet way of life, but Crichton has not. He's a disillusioned old man, having lost all hope of ever seeing his family and friends again. Aeryn urges Crichton to seek happiness with her granddaughter, Ennixx, but Crichton steadfastly refuses. Having lost the chance at a relationship with Aeryn, there is no way anybody else is going to take her place in Crichton's affections - least of all Aeryn's own granddaughter.
When the opening in the mist finally reappears, Crichton and Aeryn return to Moya in the old Transport Pod. By the time they reach Moya, Aeryn has died of old age. Mourning her loss, Crichton finally opens Aeryn's cherished locket - a keepsake of hers which she always claimed contained a picture of her only love. As he'd always suspected, it's his picture inside the locket.
Though time itself is now slowing down, there's still
a chance for Crichton to extricate Moya from the Center Halo with Zhaan
and Stark's help... but Crichton will have to force his aged body to reach
the Command and manually initiate StarBurst before time literally runs
out.
The Ugly Truth - Episode 216
When Crais invites Moya's crew to a meeting aboard Talyn,
the last thing they expect is a proposal to disarm the young gunship.
Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, Zhaan, and Stark are suspicious. But Crais reminds them that he is, like them, a fugitive from the Peacekeepers. To minimize any harm that the young, willful Talyn might cause, Crais needs their help to remove Talyn's dangerous weaponry and install in its place a non-lethal Plokavian weapon called a 'Dampening Net'.
However, as the Plokavian arms dealers' ship approaches, Talyn surprises everyone including Crais by firing upon the Plokavian ship and destroying it. Crais angrily forces Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, Stark, and Zhaan off Talyn and back into their Transport Pod. Crais and Talyn StarBurst away - but a second Plokavian ship approaches and captures the Transport Pod before it can reach Moya.
The crew is incarcerated and then, one by one, interrogated by the truth-seeking Plokavians. Who caused Talyn to fire? Talyn himself? Crais? One of the others? Each person's version of the events on Talyn differs, causing the Plokavians to become irate with the contradictions in the testimonies - and suspect that the crew is covering up for someone.
The tensions in the crew become outward aggression when D'Argo attacks Stark, knocking his faceplate off in the scuffle. Stark's normally calming light is uncontrolled, threatening to engulf him. When recovered, Stark explains that his body is only a physical manifestation of his true, incorporeal self - his energy can be dispersed through other realms.
Unable to isolate an individual culprit, the frustrated Plokavians decide to execute the entire crew. When they announce that the execution will be by dispersal, Stark intervenes, claiming that he and he alone cause Talyn to fire. The Plokavians accept his admission of guilt. Stark hands his mask to Zhaan revealing his normally luminescent face to now be dull. Then, as the others watch in helpless horror, Stark is executed.
But as Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, and Zhaan return to Moya,
Crichton and Aeryn reveal their knowledge of the actual guilty party...
A Clockwork Nebari - Episode 217
Aeryn and Rygel return from a Commerce Planet, strangely
serene and peaceful and with a surprise gift for Chiana - two fellow Nebari
to take Chiana home. Exhausted and battle scarred following a battle with
a Peacekeeper cruiser, Varla and Melak are the last of their ship's crew.
Despite being injured, Varla and Melak attempt temporary "mind cleansings"
of the remainder of Moya's crew to turn them into willing slaves of the
Nebari. Zhaan, D'Argo, and Rygel succumb - but unknown to Varla, Crichton's
mind cleansing hasn't worked; the Scorpius mental clone in Crichton's mind
protects Crichton by nullifying the cleansing. A clear-headed Crichton
must now keep up the appearance of being mind cleansed to the Nebari and
their new servants Aeryn, D'Argo, Rygel, and Zhaan.
Crichton, alone with the chained-up Chiana, convinces her that he isn't cleansed, and demands answers: why are the Nebari after her, and why do they refer to her as the valued "sister"? Chiana doesn't know. She had only one brother - Nerri - and he's dead. She does admit to Crichton that when they fled Nebari Prime, they apparently did so with the tacit blessing of the Nebari Establishment - and later discovered they were infected with a virus that the Establishment wanted to spread throughout the galaxy to pave the way for planet-wide mind cleansing of other species. Once Nerri found this out, he made contact with someone in the Nebari resistance movement and managed to get hold of an antidote. But in doing so, Nerri had laid eyes on someone high up in the Establishment who was a double agent for the Resistance. Nerri knew that this would make him a target and insisted that he and Chiana go their separate ways. That was the last time Chiana saw Nerri.
But is Nerri actually dead? Chiana is shocked when Varla reveals that Nerri is very much alive - and has become the head of the Nebari Resistance movement. The Nebari Establishment wants him captured, and intends to use Chiana as the bait.
With Chiana imprisoned and Moya unable to StarBurst due
to a poison-filled Nebari Collar placed around Pilot's neck, Crichton must
find another ally to help him execute his plan before they reach the Nebari
outpost - and the prospect of a permanent mental cleansing treatment for
himself, Chiana, and the others.
Liars, Guns And Money - Part I: A Not So Simple Plan - Episode 218
Stark returns from the dead with a plan to rescue D'Argo's
son Jothee from the Slave Traders. Stark wants the crew of Moya to help
him rob a Shadow Depository - a storage facility for ill-gotten gains -
and use the stolen loot to purchase the lot of slaves that contains Jothee.
D'Argo, furious when the others refuse to agree to Stark's crazy-sounding
plan, takes matters into his own hands and heads for the Depository. Crichton
and Aeryn follow him down, hoping to stop him from doing anything foolish,
but arrive just in time to see D'Argo taken into custody after he uses
a secret access code to enter a supposedly secure area.
Back on Moya, Crichton and Aeryn are furious that Stark has manipulated them into helping him rob the Depository; Stark gave D'Argo the code to force the Depository to change its codes after the security breach and unknowingly allow Stark to hack into the Depository's systems at that time. But with D'Argo captured, Moya's crew has no choice but to go along with Stark's plan.
Zhaan masquerades as a bad-assed criminal; Crichton, Chiana, and Aeryn act as her bodyguards. Zhaan tells Natira, the alien female in charge of the Depository, that she wishes to store some time-sensitive goods. (Hidden in the goods is Rygel; once inside the vault, he'll use a gizmo provided by Stark to swap the access code of their own container for one containing objects of far more value.) Zhaan tells Natira that D'Argo was sent to test the security of the establishment and that Zhaan would like D'Argo returned.
All looks like it's going to plan - until Scorpius arrives at the Depository. Crichton, still haunted by hallucinatory flashes of Scorpius, accuses Stark of knowing it was Scorpius' loot they were planning to steal. Stark blithely admits this, but refuses to abort the plan despite Scorpius' presence. Stark says that amongst the Slaves being auctioned are a thousand Baniks - his people. If they use Scorpius' money to free them, all the better. With Rygel already inside the vault, they have no option but to continue.
Zhaan successfully retrieves "her" container after Rygel has pulled off the container swap. But before they can all make their escape, Scorpius is alerted to their presence. With the Depository on alert, Crichton, Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, and Rygel attempt to escape with the loot.
In a final showdown with Scorpius, Crichton learns why
he has been experiencing flashes of him; back on Moya, the others celebrate
the successful heist - unaware that the loot is not quite what it seems.
To be continued?
Liars, Guns And Money - Part II: With Friends Like These? - Episode
219
With the loot from the Depository heist at hand, D'Argo
anxiously waits to make contact with the Slave Traders. It is revealed
that Scorpius has beaten them to it and purchased the lot of slaves containing
D'Argo's son Jothee - whom he'll trade for Crichton.
Crichton comes up with a plan: use the loot from the heist to hire some of their old foes - Tavleks, Blood Trackers, Sheyangs, and Zenetan Pirates - to help them storm the depository and rescue Jothee.
But after Crichton, Aeryn, and D'Argo fly off to find the mercenaries and persuade them to join in, Chiana and Rygel discover that the "loot" is not the valuable ingots they thought - but living creatures that are eating Moya! Zhaan discovers that the only way to kill them is with intense heat - enough heat to seriously injure Moya. With Pilot and Moya's support, Zhaan reluctantly implements a controlled burn of one ninth of Moya's area.
Crichton recruits Bekhesh, the Tavlek from Throne for a Loss. Aeryn finds a past-his-prime but still prideful Teurac, a fire-breathing Sheyang from PK Tech Girl. D'Argo finds Blood Trackers Rorf and Rorg from Till the Blood Runs Clear; Rorg, pregnant, insists Rorf go with D'Argo; they will need money to provide for their upcoming litter.
Rygel locates the Zenetan Pirates from The Flax - but discovers that his old nemesis, Peacekeeper Captain Durka, has taken command of the Pirates. After Rygel kills Durka in self-defense, the Zenetan Pirate Zelkin agrees to Rygel's mercenary proposal.
When Crichton and the others return, they find Moya burnt
and severely damaged - and the money to pay the mercenaries is gone. And
when Jothee arrives on Moya and reunites with D'Argo, Aeryn realizes what
has happened: to free Jothee, Crichton has turned himself over to Scorpius.
To be continued...
Liars, Guns And Money - Part III: Plan B - Episode 220
Left with no money and some extremely angry mercenaries
on a badly burned Moya, the crew must deal with the fact that Crichton
has given himself up to Scorpius to save Jothee. But Aeryn is not prepared
for defeat. She convinces the others that the plan is still the same. Instead
of rescuing Jothee, they're going to rescue Crichton. When the mercenaries
question what they are going to be paid with, Aeryn reminds them that the
Depository holds more riches than any of them could ever have dreamed.
In the Depository, Scorpius and Natira examine the captured Crichton. Months earlier, Scorpius had installed a neural chip in Crichton's brain; the chip contained a mental clone of Scorpius. The clone's task was to locate the information on wormhole technology that an alien race called the Ancients had locked away in Crichton's unconscious mind. Scorpius now dons a device that allows him to communicate with his mental clone: has the clone accomplished its task? Yes, says the clone; the wormhole information has been downloaded to the neural chip, and the chip can now be surgically removed.
But Scorpius is put on alert when Rorf is caught sneaking around the Depository perimeter. Scorpius lets Natira torture and interrogate Rorf, who gives up the information that Moya's crew plans to attack and destroy the Depository's generator, using the resulting dark as their cover.
D'Argo, Aeryn, and Bekhesh begin the assault, clearing the way for Zhaan, Stark, and Teurac to reach the generator so Teurac can breathe a fireball and destroy it. However, Scorpius and several guards are waiting at the generator. Teurac nonetheless completes his objective by refusing to be taken alive; he blasts himself, causing a huge explosion that takes out the generator.
Crichton persuades Natira that Scorpius, once he's gained
his objective, will never let her remain alive; Natira releases Crichton
in exchange for safe passage to Moya with him. But the Scorpius mental
clone in Crichton's head is clamoring for Crichton to give up the escape
attempt and return to Scorpius. Even if Aeryn and the others can fight
their way out of the Depository, can Crichton resist the neural chip's
takeover of his mind?
Die Me, Dichotomy - Episode 222
Wealthy from their bank heist, Moya's crew heads straight
for an ice planet to meet with Diagnosan Tocot, a famous surgeon whom they
hope can heal Moya's burns as well as remove Scorpius' neural chip from
Crichton's brain. However, having located the wormhole information in Crichton's
mind, Scorpius' mental clone is not prepared to give up his prize - and
Scorpius' personality overtakes Crichton until the two are indistinguishable.
With the Scorpius mental clone controlling him, Crichton admits his love to Aeryn... but when she responds in kind, Crichton/Scorpius knocks her unconscious and attempts to flee Moya. Though captured by D'Argo and Jothee, Crichton/Scorpius tricks Zhaan into joining minds with him in Unity - and escapes again, this time flying off in Crichton's Farscape Module. Aeryn pursues in her Prowler, but is forced to eject when Crichton/Scorpius maneuvers his Module into a collision. Her descent takes her onto a frozen lake on the planet - and she is unable to free herself from her harness before the ejector seat's jets melt the ice and plunge her into the freezing waters. The tragedy snaps Crichton back into control of his own mind, and he insists that Tocot operate and remove the Scorpius neural chip from his brain.
Meanwhile, the others must decide what their future holds.
Crais, aboard Talyn, regrets that Aeryn never joined them, nor had a chance to learn something that Crais had discovered - information that Crais thinks would have made Aeryn happy...
D'Argo has been planning to propose marriage to Chiana and live a quiet life on a farm with her and his son Jothee...
Chiana, however, is not at all interested in marriage to D'Argo, and Jothee is likewise uninterested in living on a farm. Chiana and Jothee also discover a mutual attraction...
Rygel, looking to desert from a crippled Moya, bribes the surgeon's assistant, Grunchlk, into helping him find a ship to purchase...
Stark offers his services to Zhaan to help care for the injured Moya, and offers to spend the rest of his life with her...
Tocot manages to remove the chip from Crichton's brain, but the operation temporarily removes Crichton's ability to speak. Before Tocot can restore Crichton's speech, Scorpius arrives in time to take the neural chip, deliver a death blow to Tocot, and leave Crichton helpless and speechless on the operating table... To be continued...