Rated: T for Teen. Suitable for all ages of hoomans above the minimum age to watch sci-fi.
Time: Just after Episode 1 - "Premiere / Through the Eye of the Needle"
FARSCAPE is owned by the Jim Henson Company. This story is for purely personal entertainment purposes. No encroachment on any property rights are intended or implied.

Still shaking after my encounter with Pilot, I stumbled down the tier until I heard voices coming from the common area. I crouched down outside the open door and listened carefully since it was very obvious they were discussing me.

"I don't like him," sniffed Rygel. "Every time I look at him he reminds me of Peacekeepers."

"Thanks for that, your Eminence," Aeryn said sarcastically. "And you remind me of…" she finished with a disgusted sound.

"Well I was tortured by them, erhm, your people, Officer Sun," the little slug answered her.

D'Argo coughed. "Rygel, drop it."

Rygel began to answer him when a hand slapped the table hard. "Enough!" Zhaan yelled. "John is as much a refugee as any of us."

Aeryn laughed. "Refugee? More like escaped criminal."

"Officer Aeryn," Zhaan answered her softly. "We are all on the run; fleeing for our lives."

D'Argo laughed. "Well for a criminal that maneuver he came up with got us away from the Command Carrier. What was that?"

I head a buzz as the holo-projector snapped on and Pilot spoke. "It was a way to increase our velocity – enormously I will say – at a random vector making the Carrier's fire miss and by a wide margin."

D'Argo laughed. "Not bad for a hooman," he said. "Not bad at all. If we knew of this technique at the Battle of Ildris Gan…"

Aeryn butted in. "Then your revolt against the Zernergans might have succeeded a solar year earlier."

"Yes… this may be true," he answered. "So, Pilot, this way to move Moira, can you reproduce it?"

"I'm afraid not, General Ka D'Argo," Pilot told him. "It required calculations that I and Moira were not privy to. Commander Crichton had no time at that critical moment to share his thinking process nor the steps necessary to compute the needed velocity and atmospheric entry angle." He stopped. "Moira and I am still… mystified… why it worked. We all should be dead."

I heard Aeryn push her chair away from the table and start to pace around the common room. "So… here we are, free, meanwhile heading deeper into the Uncharted Territories. And we are still breathing. I for one appreciate that fact."

No one said anything for a few seconds; microts I corrected myself; trying to think in alien time units.

Zhaan said, "There is that. We are free, at least for the moment. I for one prefer breathing free then being a prisoner, no matter my companions or the circumstances."

"Err, so do you trust this Crichton?" Rygel muttered. "I don't."

"Rygel he saved your life – all our lives!" Zhaan protested. "I for one think that he is stranger than any of us know. His reactions to our environment and us show this experience is clearly far beyond anything that he has ever experienced. We may need to give him time to adjust to the present state of affairs."

I heard Aeryn go to the food machine and draw a cup of some liquid. "Well," she sighed, "he did get me away from Captain Crais." I heard her gulp at whatever drink she held. "Irreversibly contaminated?" she laughed sardonically. "I'd be dead by now if not for him, so as irritating as he is, he has proven himself… useful… at times."

D'Argo laughed aloud. "Settled then. Aeryn considering how terrible he was firing that Peacekeeper's weapon, perhaps you can begin drilling him on firearms."

"As soon as you give me my pulse pistol back, I shall," she told him.

"Hmmph," Rygel muttered. "Settled? I don't trust him, or this Peacekeeper, or our situation. And safe in the Uncharted Territories? Further into the void?"

"We have no choice Dominar," Zhaan reminded him.

D'Argo chuckled with no mirth. "Rather go back towards the Commerce Planet? Back to Captain Crais?"

Rygel told them. "Uhm, no, not what I was saying."

I heard Aeryn cross the room and she must have grabbed Rygel by the throat for he started to wheeze. "Rygel I don't trust you either!" she snarled. "You frelling little…"

"The feeling is mutual Aeryn Sun," he grunted.

"Stop! Stop it! All of you!" Zhaan screeched. "If we don't work together…"

I chose that moment to walk into the room and they all froze. "Then we shall all hang together or something like that. United we stand – divided we fall."

D'Argo came around the table and peered down at me, his head tentacles flapping from his rapid stomp. "United – stand. Divided – fall. Hmm. I like that."

I looked at him then around the room. "Where I come from, it's a good idea that we all start over." I stuck out my right hand to D'Argo and after a second he took my hand in his. "My name's John Crichton, Astronaut."

"General Ka D'Argo," he said in return. "Erh, Crichton, do you suppose you could teach me how to do that atmosphere bounce thing?"

"You any good at n-dimensional calculus?"

"I am a warrior, not a mathematician. My tools are weapons."

"Well I am a physicist along with other things." I dropped his hand and leaned across the table staring at the rest of them. "So here we are a lost astronaut, that's me, a blue healer / priest, an escaped Leviathan and her Pilot, a Luxan warrior, a deposed Dominar, and an outcast Peacekeeper." I shook my head. "Louisa Wu and his motley crew."

Zhaan smiled. "Louisa Wu?"

"Science fiction. Never mind." I drew up a chair and sat down and casually crossed my legs. "Now… what do we do next?"

"We?" Rygel muttered.

"Yeah. We. You, me, us." I leaned back. "Seems to me that we are in this mess together. We're a crew, like it or not. We have to get along – work together – depend on each other like we did back there." I gestured with my thumb behind me. "At the Commerce Planet."

Zhaan grinned. "Well put John Crichton."

"Call me John," I told her.

Aeryn glared at me. "All your fault – all your frelling fault!" she yelled.

"Oh? Was I the one who captured all of you in the first place? Or bolted a command collar onto Moya, or tortured Rygel and D'Argo?" I sighed. "Or declared you to be irreversibly contaminated? I'm a casualty of circumstance, just like all of you. Like I said united…"

"We stand, divided we fall," added D'Argo. He bared his teeth and laughed out loud. "I like you Crichton! You do have zercombobs!"

"I'll take that as a compliment." I nodded at him. "You too."

Aeryn stamped over and glowered down at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Weapons training in the maintenance bay – in one arn!" she commanded.

I gave her a half-salute. "Oui, mon commandant!"

She shook her head, dark hair flying. "I didn't get that."

I stood so we were nose to nose. "Means yes, Aeryn. I'll be there."

"Do not be late!" she sneered, then turned on her heel and left in a huff, stomping her booted feet, and Dad I have to tell you she did look good in those tight pants.

Zhaan smiled once more. "That's settled then. We shall press on towards the Uncharted Territories – deeper than we thought. Perhaps Captain Crais will give up the pursuit."

I shook my head. "Naw. That bad boy will never stop. He'll come after us like a hungry dog after raw meat."

Dominar sniffed then rode his throne chair away. "You're all mad," he said as a parting shot and his sarcastic laughter echoed down the tier.

Pilot coughed. "Your wishes?"

Zhaan and D'Argo exchanged looks. "Forward Pilot," Zhaan answered Pilot. "Best speed that Moya can make."

Pilot bowed his head. "As you say," and his image winked out.

D'Argo walked to the port and looked out at the vista of churning stars and galaxies. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he muttered.

Zhaan said, "But we are free."

I went around the table and stood between them. "Yes… we are free," I sighed. I stared out the port for a minute or so and wondered Dad, where home was? I've got a feeling this is gonna be a very long journey.

Zhaan patted my arm. "I shall be in my chamber meditating."

"Fine. See you later."

D'Argo clapped his hands. "And I shall be up in Command."

"Okay."

He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I like you Crichton, and I don't know why." His harsh voice cackled, he whacked me on the back nearly breaking it, then he too left.

Dad I am an alien amongst aliens – lost in the stars; just trying to get back home. And perhaps, maybe a little, I do trust these people. Well more than a little bit. "What other choices do I have?" I said aloud.

What did they say on Star Trek? "Space the final frontier…" I chuckled. "Roddenberry you had no idea," I said to myself. I squared my shoulders. "Away we go. Into the stars." Rattlers be damned.

THE END

Thanks for reading! The reference to 'Louis Wu and his motley crew' is from Larry Niven's "Ringworld."

Rob