"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 "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 "mind-cleansed" Captain Durka with a process that they claimed had entirely eliminated his violent tendencies. Chiana was destined for similar reconditioning; however, 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 freed Durka from the Nebari conditioning, giving free reign to the Captain's suppressed, sadistic nature. Amid 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 that was 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 junctions and placed himself in control of most of Moya's systems. With a madman at the helm, an unpredictable 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 growing worse with each passing microt.... Gigi Edgley  . . . . . .  Chiana David Wheeler  . . . . . .  Durka Tiriel Mora  . . . . . .  Salis Writer  . . . . . .  Grant McAloon Director  . . . . . .  Tony Tilse << Previous Log Next Log >>