Durka Returns
Each day we learn more about life aboard a pregnant Leviathan, though
what we still don't know could fill the Uncharted Territories. For
example, Moya has of late developed a tendency to starburst at
unexpected and inopportune times, usually in response to a threat to her
pregnancy of which only she is aware.
Upon emerging from one such unplanned starburst, we inadvertently
collided with and damaged a Nebari transport. Feeling obliged to repair
the ship, Moya and I brought it aboard. Little did we know what dangers
the occupants of that vessel would pose.
The transport carried three in total: a Nebari official named Salis, a
Nebari criminal named Chiana, and the infamous Peacekeeper Captain Selto
Durka. It was Durka who had tortured Rygel for many cycles aboard the
Command Carrier Zelbinion. When we found the remains of that vessel
floating in space (see Log File 10107 "PK Tech Girl,") Rygel was
relieved to discover what we thought was Durka's dead body on board.
Evidently the Peacekeeper faked his own death and fled the Zelbinion,
only to have his escape pod apprehended by the attacking Nebari vessel.
The Nebari are a species who prize conformity and discipline above all
else. They mentally cleansed Captain Durka in a process which they
claimed had entirely eliminated his violent tendencies. Chiana was
destined for similar reconditioning although her crime, at least by her
own account, was that she was too much of a nonconformist for the
Nebari's serene society.
Recalling the cycles of torture he suffered at Durka's hands, Rygel
could not contain his anger and attempted to kill the Peacekeeper with a
crude explosive device. The bomb was too poorly constructed to kill but
the ensuing explosion shook loose the Nebari conditioning, giving free
reign to the Captain's sadistic side.
Amidst the chaos, Chiana escaped from her holding cell. The young thief
was desperate to find the means to leave Moya and escape from the Nebari
ship en route to retrieve her, Salis and Durka. When John discovered
Salis' lifeless body in a corridor, no one was certain whether it was
Durka or Chiana who had committed the murder.
Before long, Durka had captured Aeryn and Rygel, bypassed all of my
synaptic bypasses and placed himself in control of most of Moya's
systems. With a madman at the helm, an upredictable thief on the loose,
a deadly Nebari vessel headed our way and Moya's pregnancy limiting her
ability to starburst, the odds that any of us would live to see Moya's
child born were long and growiring longer each minute.
Guest Cast
Gigi Edgley..............Chiana
David Wheeler...........Durka
Tiriel Mora..............Salis
Writer..................Grant McAloon
Director.................Tony Tilse