Rygel returns to the lab to contact Grunchlk, who had agreed to provide him with a means of abandoning Moya - a personal ship. Instead, he discovers the unconscious Diagnosan and a speechless Crichton still on the operating table. He informs the others of the situation, and they come to Crichton's aide. Zhaan performs the Delvian unity ritual with Crichton, and discovers the clone. Experiencing Crichton's agony, she tries to mercifully end his life, but is physically restrained by D'Argo.
The crew entreats Tocot to restore Crichton's speech. When he wakes from the successful operation, it is Stark who forces John to fight back against the Scorpius clone. It's Crichton's head, not Scorpius', and Stark tells Crichton as much. With a tremendous display of inner will, Crichton confronts the clone, and banishes it to the farthest recess of his mind.
Meanwhile, the real Scorpius has retreated to another section of the base, not wanting a conflict with D'Argo et al. He will wait until his Command Carrier comes within range, for he knows that Crais waits in orbit aboard the gunship Talyn. The unexpected arrival of a Scarran, Plonek, complicates matters for Crichton and D'Argo, but gives Scorpius a chance to flee the Ice Planet. Crais, although surprised by the presence of the half-breed, is quick to give chase. He sees the opportunity to end Scorpius' existence once and for all, even if it means putting Talyn at the mercy of the Scorpius' Command Carrier.
Still dealing with the loss of Aeryn Sun, Zhaan feels the Sebacean's life force reaching out to her, as if from an infinite distance. She pleads with Stark to help her reach out to Aeryn's soul, believing there might still be a chance to save her.
Meanwhile, Crichton and D'Argo have Plonek to deal with.
With Crichton barely strong enough to stand, their combined muscle is insufficient
to overwhelm the Scarran. In this, their most desperate hour, help may
come from a most unexpected ally??
Suns and Lovers - Episode 302
Eager to spend the loot acquired from robbing the shadow
depository, the crew of Moya head to a commerce station. The situation
becomes disastrous when the commerce station is hit by a violent storm,
almost severely damaging the station and trapping Moya in the docking cables.
While Aeryn goes to rescue a child trapped on a lower tier, Zhaan remains in the bar, to tend to the injured bartender, Moordil. Meanwhile Crichton learns from Borlik another alien, that the storms may not be natural phenomena but weapons of wrath used by religious zealots to protect their Sacred Stillness from the evils of commerce. Pilot confirms the storm indeed changed course 90 degrees in order to hit the station and that another larger storm is also headed straight for them. With little time to lose, Crichton, stark and Rygel set about locating the source of the signal attracting the storm only to discover it's coming from inside Borlik!
Back on Moya, D'Argo prepares to unfurl Moya from the
docking cables when Chiana and Jothee's guilt causes them to inadvertently
reveal their crime to D'Argo. Confronted with the ultimate betrayal by
those closest to him, D'Argo becomes depressed and self-destructive. Intoxicated,
he bids Pilot goodbye and heads out on the potentially suicidal mission
to release Moya before the storm hits.
Self Inflicted Wounds - Part 1: Could'a, Would'a, Should'a - Episode
303
As the crew head for a planet that might hold the key
to saving a disease-ravaged Zhaan, Pilot identifies a wormhole in the vicinity.
Placing his priorities above those of Zhaan and the crew, Crichton insists
upon taking a short detour to check out the wormhole. As Moya draws close,
a small ship screams out of the hole and collides with the living vessel!
When the two crews recover, they find that the two ships have fused together
in a freakish amalgam. Crichton wakes up face to face with two aliens,
Pathfinder Neeyala and Officer Kreetago. Their strange species is armed
with needle-shooting gills, which makes introductions between the two crews
an exceedingly tense encounter.
However, there is little time to exchange pleasantries. The fused ships are trapped in a series of wormholes, looping repeatedly. Moya seems to be reacting badly to the collision, her systems dying section by section. Pilot is faring no better. And the entire crew is troubled by visions of a giant fanged serpent, which appears randomly around the ship.
Even disregarding the calamity at hand, emotions are riding high. D'Argo is uncertain of his relationship with Chiana, and goes to Aeryn for guidance. Crichton and Rygel accidentally open one of the cryopods taken from the ice planet. Inside, alive, is a beautiful alien named Jool. She awakes to find that 22 cycles have passed since she went into cryo sleep, and that her family is dead. In other words, she is one upset alien, which is not a good thing when you have a scream that bends metal.
The crews can barely maintain a civil front as they work side by side. It is discovered that to separate the ships, one of them must be cast into the wormhole wall and destroyed. Neeyala insists that because Moya is on death's door, it is her ship that must be saved, with both crews on board. Zhaan is especially distraught by this information. As Moya's protector, she sees this as the ultimate failure.
As the crew prepares to leave Moya forever, Crichton intercepts
a familiar image transmitting through the wormhole loop. It is an old signal,
its image distorted. It is an episode of The Three Stooges. It is a sign
of Earth??
Self Inflicted Wounds - Part II: Wait For the Wheel - Episode 304
Faced with the imminent death of both Pilot and Moya,
who will be cast into the wall of the imprisoning wormhole, the inhabitants
of the living ship prepare to disembark and take their chances with Neeyala's
vessel. The alien serpent that has been harassing everyone on board has
become terrifyingly real, and it adds further jeopardy to the unlikely
escape.
Suddenly, a critical discovery is made. Moya's disintegration is not a result of the collision between the two ships. Neeyala, Kreetago and their crew are sabotaging her! By using their "Phaztillon Generator", they are shifting their own molecules out of phase, rendering themselves invisible and undetectable. Section by section, they have been crippling Moya.
It becomes time for Moya's crew to fight back. Crichton and Aeryn fight a desperate running battle with the alien serpent, a beast that proves just short of unkillable. D'Argo is able to stop Kreetago in his tracks - permanently. During the battle, however, Chiana is struck down by one of Kreetago's poisonous needles. With Zhaan already disabled by illness, their manpower becomes critically low.
Now that there is the slightest chance that Moya can be
saved, the crew acts upon it. Aeryn is forced to take control from the
unconscious Pilot, though the conditions in Pilot's den can now barely
sustain life. As time runs out, and the yawning wormhole beckons, a moment
of truth is reached. During the separation, one crewmember will need to
operate the alien vessel, knowing that it will be atomised. So that the
others may live, one of them will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Different Destinations - Episode 305
The crew of Moya stops at the ancient site of a great
siege, where Peacekeeper forces once negotiated a surrender to a vastly
superior army. The monastery that still stands is a memorial to peace,
and kindles in everyone the memory of their beloved Zhaan, now forever
lost.
Then, in the midst of this tranquility, the impossible happens. Through a freak combination of Stark's ethereal presence, and a mysterious tear in the fabric of time, Crichton and his comrades are thrust back into the past. They materialise in the very midst of the ancient siege! Aeryn bluffs their way in as Peacekeeper reinforcements, though the five of them have no hope of making a difference against the gathered Venek hordes outside.
Forced into this archaic world, the travellers begin to rewrite history (against Crichton's better instincts). The captured Venek General Grynes, who was meant to be instrumental in arranging the cease-fire, is killed as Crichton attempts to smuggle him out. In the present, Chiana and Rygel are witness to the changes taking place on the planet below. As Crichton and his friends further change the course of history, the new present is becoming more and more horrific. The planet's population plummets - the legacy of the crew's actions 500 cycles in the past.
Time becomes a concern in more ways than one. Stark searches
desperately for the tear in time that is their only chance of escape. Crichton
and Aeryn struggle in vain to force a truce, to correct the deviations
they have caused. And all of them realise that if they do not escape in
time, they will have to face the combined might of the Venek hordes, and
fight a battle they know they cannot win.
Eat Me - Episode 306
Returning from a commerce planet, Crichton, D'Argo, Chiana
and Jool come across a diseased and dying Leviathan, Rovhu, in a Peacekeeper
control collar. With their Pod in desperate need of repairs, and with Moya
nowhere in sight, the crew has no option but to head towards the seemingly
lifeless vessel.
However, their fears of running into Peacekeepers aboard the ship are soon replaced by a far scarier foe - mutant scavengers called Xarai, who are feeding on each other, the ship''s Pilot and the ship itself.
Moya missed the rendezvous because she was responding to a cry of distress from Talyn. Aeryn and Rygel discover a severely battle damaged Talyn and a comatose Crais but no sign of whatever attacked them.
Meanwhile on Rovhu, the crew discovers a worse fate awaits them. A madman named Kaarvok, who feasts on other being''s brains, makes D'Argo his next victim, followed shortly by Chiana. With his friends apparently dead and the crippled Leviathan out of control, Crichton has one priority: get the hell off Rovhu.
When it is revealed that Kaarvok possesses the ability
to split his victims, "twinning" them into two perfect replicas before
he sucks out their brains - thus prolonging his food supply - Crichton
learns that D'Argo and Chiana are still alive. In a fight to the death,
Crichton defeats Kaarvok - but in the process, Crichton is himself twinned,
and Moya's crew is astonished to discover there are now two identical Crichtons!
Thanks For Sharing - Episode 307
While the two "twinned" Crichtons struggle to accept
each other's existence, Moya does all she can for her injured offspring,
Talyn. Talyn, however, will not fully recover without a dose of the stimulant
Chromextin. While negotiating to buy Chromextin on the planet Kanvia, Chiana
and D'Argo get into a fight with the planet's security director, Rinic
Tolven, seriously damaging their chances of a successful deal. It seems
Tolven, also the sovereign 's son, must approve all such transactions.
Back on Moya, Captain Crais finally regains consciousness. Recovering from the shock of finding Aeryn alive, he tells her that Talyn was attacked by a highly trained Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad. The Peacekeepers want Talyn back, and will stop at nothing to get him. Accordingly, as soon as Talyn recovers, Crais plans to starburst into hiding. Crais also informs Aeryn that her mother, Xhalax Sun, is the Senior Officer in charge of the Retrieval Squad sent to get Talyn.
On Kanvia, Rygel fails to persuade the planet's sovereign, Rinic Pralanoth, to approve the sale of the Chromextin. Instead, Pralanoth authorizes his son Tolven to launch missiles at the two Leviathans. Only a quick-thinking bluff by the two Crichtons saves the defenseless ships and reopens negotiations. When Pralanoth only agrees to sell them half the Chromextin they require, his daughter, Sarova, insists on a secret meeting with Crichton-2. Concerned that her brother intends to sabotage the delivery of the Chromextin, she asks for Crichton's patience and in exchange she will do everything in her power to speed the process along. When a bomb explodes in the refreshment house, injuring both Crichton and Sarova, it seems Tolven's plan of sabotage has already been successful.
With Crichton-2 seriously injured, Crichton-1 has to take
his place in the increasingly urgent negotiations with the politically
paranoid Kanvians. And when the first third of the Chromextin shipment
finally arrives, it nearly kills Talyn--somebody has poisoned it. Crichton-1
confronts Tolven, the obvious suspect - not knowing that an advance scout
from the Retrieval Squad has joined the game, with lethal intent.
Green Eyed Monster - Episode 308
Still recovering from the attack by the Peacekeeper Retrieval
Squad, Talyn is unprepared when he is swallowed by a gargantuan space creature
known as a Budong while hiding in a planet's ice rings.
Unable to Starburst or to navigate against the electromagnetic current, Crais makes the decision to make his way through the Budong's digestive tract, hoping Talyn is small enough to pass through unharmed. Safe on the Transport Pod with Rygel, Stark is horrified when he learns of their plan, informing them that the stomach of a Budong is an inferno, which they will never survive.
Managing to calm Talyn long enough to tether him to the wall of the Budong, Crichton, Aeryn and Crais contemplate their fiery future while they try to come up with another plan. To complicate matters, Crais's neural connection with Talyn is having adverse effects on Crais's health. Wanting help to control the gunship, he asks Aeryn to join him by also taking the Hand of Friendship - an eventuality that Talyn also desires.
But Crichton is not so sure of Crais's motives, especially when he stumbles across a video recording that shows Aeryn and Crais having sex.
When Stark does eventually come up with a plan that just
might save their lives, Aeryn will be forced to face her true feelings
if all of them are to survive.
Losing Time - Episode 309
When Moya passes through an electromagnetic cluster,
Crichton begins having strange blackouts and bouts of bleeding. Exhausted
from his relentless search for wormholes, the rest of the crew initially
claims Crichton's experience was a result of fatigue, until it is revealed
that Crichton was not the only one to lose time. To prove the point, Crichton
makes the crew sit together in the Centre Chamber with a DRD recording
events. At first it appears as if nothing has happened until it is discovered
that a bucket Jool emptied only moments before is now full. Crichton plays
back the DRD's recording, to everyone's shock, they see themselves spasm
and then freeze--for half an hour. They turn to Pilot for answers, only
to find that Pilot has been possessed by a strange energy being who tells
them they must prepare to face judgment.
The being explains that a diseased energy rider entered Moya when she passed through the electromagnetic cluster. This rider is malevolent, and will attempt to keep whichever body it possesses until that body dies. It must be hunted out - something that the being in Pilot had hoped to do without being discovered. Since its more subtle probes into the crew haven't worked, it must now 'taste' each of them individually to find the energy rider - a painful and possibly lethal process. Stalling for time, the crew questions each other in an attempt to flush out the malevolent energy rider. When suspicion settles on Jool, the being in Pilot tastes her, almost killing her in the process but without uncovering the energy rider. In desperation, Crichton speaks through a DRD to Moya herself. Moya leads Crichton and Chiana down to the Starburst Primary Reaction chamber and has them initiate a miniature blast of Starburst. Neither can figure out why Moya wants them to do this--until in the light of the Starburst energy Crichton sees the energy rider possessing Chiana. The situation is complicated when the energy rider in Chiana claims the being in Pilot is the evil one. Now unsure who to believe, the crew must come up with a plan before they are all killed.
Meanwhile, on his Command Carrier, Scorpius is tormented
by dreams of Crichton as his research team prepares to send a piloted Prowler
through an unstable wormhole. The Prowler returns unscathed, but its pilot
has been liquefied. Frustrated, Scorpius confides to Lieutenant Braca the
true urgency behind this project: the Scarrans are preparing to attack
Peacekeeper space, and they outnumber Peacekeepers ten to one. Only wormhole
technology will give the Peacekeepers any hope of winning the coming war.
Relativity - Episode 310
While Talyn's crew wait for him to heal on an uninhabited
jungle planet, a vigilante Peacekeeper ship arrives intent on capturing
Talyn and the rebel Peacekeeper, Captain Crais. The Peacekeeper Retrieval
Squad is under the command of Senior Officer Xhalax Sun - Aeryn's mother.
Having met her mother only once as a child, Aeryn doesn't know what to
expect as she prepares herself to face the enemy squad.
While Stark and Rygel stay with the ship, Aeryn, Crichton and Crais head out into the dense vegetation in an attempt to lead the squad away from the still vulnerable Talyn. Xhalax and her team of expert alien trackers known as Colartas quickly locate the party. A fierce battle takes place, leaving Crais and Xhalax wounded and both crews scattered.
Afterwards, in the dense vegetation, Aeryn and Xhalax come face to face and Aeryn reveals her identity. A Peacekeeper soldier first, Xhalax is prepared to kill her "traitorous" daughter in order to carry out her mission. Aeryn steels herself and leads the cruel and unforgiving Xhalax back to the ship as her prisoner.
Back on Talyn, Xhalax uses a concealed stiletto to free herself. In a deathly efficient maneuver, she "fillets" Rygel and leaves Aeryn and Stark unconscious. Xhalax then sets to work severing Tayln's higher functions, planning to subdue him and transport him back to Peacekeeper territory.
Meanwhile, Crichton and the badly wounded Crais use the planet's natural resources to avoid detection by the pursuing Colartas. However, blaming Crais for their present situation and deeply suspicious of his intentions, Crichton is tempted to leave him to his death.
Struggling to reconcile her memory of her loving mother
with the murderous woman now sabotaging Talyn, Aeryn tries to appeal to
the Xhalax who visited her as a child. But, Xhalax tells Aeryn that as
a result of that unauthorised visit, she was forced to kill Aeryn's father
to redeem herself with the Peacekeepers. To Xhalax, Aeryn represents her
own weakness - and the life she might have had. In a final standoff deep
in the jungle, Aeryn realizes that only Xhalax's death will end the pursuit
of Talyn and his crew. But will she be able to kill her own mother?
Fractures - Episode 311