SCIFI.COM | Farscape: Allies & Enemies

Standing all of 26 inches tall — when he deigns to rise from his levitating ThroneSled, that is — Rygel was once the royal sovereign of more than 600 billion loyal subjects, the ruler of the Hynerian Empire. Unfortunately for him, none of them is with him in the Uncharted Territories. The victim of a coup by his treacherous cousin Bishan, Rygel was a prisoner of the Peacekeepers for more than 300 cycles — first aboard the infamous Command Carrier Zelbinion, and, much later, aboard the collared Leviathan prison ship Moya. ("PK Tech Girl")

It was Rygel who first escaped his cell on Moya, making possible the prisoner revolt that seized control of the living ship and, together with D'Argo and Zhaan, freed Moya from a life of servitude to the Peacekeepers. ("Premiere") Of course, if Rygel could have freed the ship alone, he might just as easily have left the Luxan and the Delvian in chains.

Rygel is, more than any other individual aboard Moya, excessively concerned with his own self-interest. Leave something unattended and Rygel will soon either steal it or eat it — or both. Between him and sticky-fingered Chiana, it's a wonder anyone else on Moya still has any private possessions at all.

Does the deposed Dominar have any redeeming qualities? Well, he's tough: He withstood the attentions of many torturers. ("Durka Returns") He's diabolically clever: He can barter a better price for anything he can't scrounge for free, and he negotiate circles around just about anyone. And when the crew needs someone to crawl into a very small space, the often-annoying Rygel suddenly becomes the man of the hour. And if he happens to serve as comic-nickname fodder for John Crichton (who has given Rygel such monikers as "Buckwheat," "Sparky," "Guido" and "His Rectal Eminence"), or as a punching bag for his other shipmates — well, that's not always such a bad thing, either.

But Rygel's fortunes might soon improve. Through the Peacekeepers, he has received reports that the subjects of the Hynerian Empire are unhappy with Bishan's rule, and that the time might soon be ripe for Rygel to reclaim his rightful place on the throne. ("Into the Lion's Den, Part 1: Lambs to the Slaughter") In the last few cycles alone, Rygel has slain his former tormentor Durka ("Liars, Guns and Money, Part 3: Plan B"); bested Scorpius at the negotiating table ("I-Yensch, You-Yensch"); put the smack-down on his people's ancient enemies, the Charrids, in a battle worthy of his ancestors ("Infinite Possibilities, Part 2: Icarus Abides"); and discovered that he is, in fact, capable of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.

If and when he does return home, one thing is certain: His cousin, Bishan, will rue the day he crossed Dominar Rygel XVI.

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